The inaugural Stellenbosch High Schools Cup Final day took place at the Coetzenburg athletics Stadium on Saturday the 26th October. The finalist of the competition included Luckhoff High School and Makapula High School in the u17 Boys category, Luckhoff High School and Cloetesville High School in the u19 Ladies as well as the u19 Boys category.
The journey to the Coetzenburg Stadium started on the 4th of September and involved 8 High Schools including Stellenzicht, Paul Roos Gymnasium, Makapula, Kayamandi, Cloetesville , Luckhoff, Kylemore as well as Hottentots Holland. Approximately 300 learners took part in the competition which is aimed at stimulating football development in Stellenbosch and the surrounding communities.
The first teams to take the field were Luckhoff and Makapula in the u17 Boys final. Luckhoff put together a solid football display and ended up 6-1 winners with goals from Deano van Rooyen (2), Ashley du Preez (2) and Elveso Jumat (1). In the Ladies u19 Final, the game was tightly contested, but Cloetesville put together an energised second half performance to defeat Luckhoff by 3 goals to 1. Alicia Willemse put on a fantastic footballing display to walk away with honours as the player of the match.
The u19 Boys game was one that was marked by a fantastic performance by Cloetesville High School and in particular Curwin Williams who scored a hat trick against Luckhoff High School. Edwin Antonie, notched up Cloetesville’4th goal, and Luckhoff were not able to break the solid Cloetesville defence. Wandile Yapi was named the player of the match for his role in setting up the Cloetesville goals.
The Stellenbosch High Schools Cup was a follow on to the Primary Schools cup that took place earlier in the year involving 18 local schools participating in the u10, u12, u14 boys as well as the u14 girl’s categories. Both the competitions are now annual events in the Stellenbosch footballing calendar, and we look forward to seeing the future stars again in action in 2014.
The tournament forms part of a Football Development Programme, led by Stellenbosch University (SU), which aims to invest in the development of football skills within the communities surrounding Stellenbosch, and to create an elite football environment at the University. “We are committed to investing in the communities surrounding our campus, and we are excited by the immense talent of the football players in these communities,” says Professor Julian Smith, Vice Rector: Community Interaction and Personnel at SU.
“Our aim is to build the SU Football Programme into the leading football development programme in South Africa. I am confident that we are more than capable in this regard, given our world class facilities, expertise in the field of sport science and our geographical location,” says Professor Leopoldt van Huyssteen, Head: Operations at SU.
Ms Anita Nel, Senior Director: Innovation and Business Development at SU and CEO of Innovus, the SU’s industry interaction and innovation company, says: “We are serious about football. We are proud to be able to play a role in the development of this popular sport and support the creation of future football stars.”