In just a matter of weeks the 32 nations taking part in the 2010 FIFA World Cup will be in South Africa, battling it out on the countries World Cup pitches.
But for a group of South Africa’s youngsters, the international flavour of the top football event in the World came to the country a little early as they took to the field for the National Schools Football Final, with each team ‘adopting’ a 2010 FIFA World Cup participating nation.
The tournament forms part of the My 2010 School Adventure campaign. It is a partnership between the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa (OC) and Departments of Basic Education, Arts and Culture, and Sport and Recreation which seeks to promote the participation in football of South Africa’s youth, using the World Cup as a platform for this.
Over the last few months over 8000 schools around the country have been taking part in regional tournaments, with the winners from the Boys and Girls u14 and u18 categories in each province representing at the National Finals at Marks Park Sports Club in Johannesburg this last weekend.
Having adopted Spain, Seiphemelo Secondary School, from the North West Province, won the main match of the finals. Such was the significance of the event that the main game, the boys under 18 final, along with 9 other games, was televised on sports channel, Supersport.
What the children did not know was that, as a reward for going so far in the campaign, 5000 World Cup tickets were made available to the young players through the 2010 FIFA World Cup Ticket Fund.
Having reaped the rewards of the My 2010 Schools Adventure, victorious Seiphemulo Secondary School learner, Lucky Matinyane, expressed his delight.
“I feel great about the campaign because it ensures that young people like myself are removed from the streets and from participating in unsavoury activities and instead are given the opportunity to participate in something meaningful. Some of us come from poor families, so we would not have had the opportunity to attend a World Cup game had it not been for this initiative”.
Despite falling short at the final hurdle, Buddy Dodovu from the Keurhof Special School was full of praise and excitement for the opportunities presented by the 2010 FIFA World Cup through the campaign.
“I feel very good and excited about the My 2010 Schools Adventure because it gives us the feeling that the World Cup is really here”
“I feel we have gained a lot from this experience because we’ve heard that there are a lot of academies that will be recruiting from these finals,” said Dodovu.
The National Football Finals were contested by both boys and girls in the under 14, under 18, and Learners with Special Educational Needs (LSEN) divisions.
source:(fifa.com)
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