It seems a lifetime ago that Rebonwe coach, Emmanuel Gogela, heard there was going to be a Danone Nations Cup girls tournament this year. Like most schools, he didn't have many girls at under-12 level, and those he had competed together with the boys. But this didn't stop him and immediately recruited more girls and put a team together and entered the tournament.
Six month later and his team had not only performed well, they had won the trip of a lifetime - to compete in the world finals taking place in Barcelona between 10th and 12th October.
To help prepare the girls for the world stage, Danone Southern Africa enlisted the help of acclaimed development coach, SIBUSISO NTSINDE. Sibusiso holds a CAF C Licence and a Coerver Youth Diploma. He attended a Rene Meulensteen Dutch Symposium course as well as a course held by the KNVB in the Netherlands. Recently he won the Future Champs Tournament with the Bidvest Wits under-17 team.
"It's such a pleasure to be able to assist these young aspiring soccer players," said Ntsinde. "It's very different coaching girls as opposed to boys. Firstly, girls listen better! Secondly, they are focused and quick learners. I cannot believe the difference in their performance after 2 weeks with me. Our first task was to teach the basics of the game as many of the girls have not been playing for long. They also had to get used to me and the way I coach and to the different techniques and tactics. Then followed the task of tweaking some of their positions on the field to match their strengths."
The world finals will not be easy, admits Ntsinde. "I have seen who their competition will be and most countries will be represented by clubs such as Napoli and Espanyol, whose players have been playing the game since they were 5 or 6 and they will be the best players at this level at their respective clubs, whereas our girls play for the love of the game. I love every day that I spend with these girls and I enjoy seeing their enthusiasm to want to improve and learn. I will do my best to prepare them well. I can see they are getting the concepts, but it is not easy to cram so much so quickly."
Spain will be a football lesson for the girls, Ntsinde believes. "They will see teams that are at another level and using different techniques, which will give them something to aspire to. They must not look down on themselves but rise and look where they can be. My message to them is to go out there and represent us the best way possible. They should remember that they are the best in the country and, no matter what, they have gone out and fought a battle to get to where they are now. I can't wait to see them on their return. We will evaluate what they learnt and look at where to go next and what do they want to do on the football field in the future."
Accompanying Rebonwe Primary in Spain will be Nomlinganiselo from the Western Cape (2018 winners) and Muzuvukile from KZN (2019 boys winners). The teams leave for Barcelona on Monday, 7th October and will have a couple of days to acclimatise prior to the commencement of the tournament on 10th October. On the final day, 12TH October, the teams will play their final match at the home ground of La Liga club, RCD Espanyol de Barcelona, commonly known as Espanyol.
Also travelling with the team will be Amanda Dlamini, ex Banyana Banyana captain. She will be with the girls every step of the way, encouraging them, giving advice as well as celebrating and motivating them.
"Barcelona is symbolic as it was in this city in 1919 that Isaac Carasso created the first Danone yogurt with the aim of improving one's health," said Masi Mkhize, Communications Manager, Danone Southern Africa. "We are combining Danone's Centenary celebrations and the 20th edition of the world finals in a bumper edition this year. It also coincides with our new brand positioning and purpose, One Planet One Health, which reflects our belief that the health of humankind and that of the planet are interlinked and both need to be protected and nurtured.
"Through the Danone Nations Cup, we are contributing to bringing this vision to life by promoting the importance of exercise. Further, we are encouraging our young athletes to 'Play Football, Change the Game', which is a rallying message to unite children, irrespective of their backgrounds and cultures, and to encourage them to become catalysts for positive change," concluded Mkhize.
2019 DNC WORLD FINALS
GIRLS TOURNAMENT - COMPETING TEAMS
COUNTRY
REPRESENTING TEAM
Argentina
Club Atletico River Plate
England
Easington Colliery Girls Primary School
France
Olympique Lyonnais FC
Italy
SSC Napoli FC
Japan
Chiba Chuo FC
South Africa
Rebonwe Primary School
Spain
RCD Espanyol FC
Uruguay
Nautico FC
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