Molaodi Molaodi
Ngungunyane High soccer coach Ntsoaki Letsaba is pleased that her school managed a goalless draw against Ibongo High in their opening game of the Mr Price D14 Football League at Elkah Stadium on Wednesday.
“My boys were jittery as they did not trust themselves against Ibongo who have a reputation of being pretty strong. But now that we know our weakness, we’ll work on them and I’m sure we can win our future matches,” she said.
Mito Matola, coach of Dr Vilakazi, saw his school beat Lavela 2-0. “We played pretty well, so watch this space next time,” he warned.
In another match, Bhukulani defeated Letari 2-0.
There were no reports of age cheating in the games played on Wednesday, and hopefully this will continue.
Kavu Naidoo, the chief co-ordinator for District 14, had earlier warned of stringent measurers which will be taken against schools that field over-age players in the competition.
The contest is for under-19s with 43 schools from District 14 taking part.
“Strict conditions have been laid down for the tournament and we aren’t going to be kind to schools breaking the rules,” said Naidoo, adding that official documents, like birth certificates and identification papers, must be produced by each and every player before matches kick off.
This exciting new football partnership is for learners in Soweto, Eldorado Park, Lenasia and Southern Suburbs.
The schools began the round robin matches this Wednesday and the winners of the groups will then proceed to the final knock-out tournament to be played in October.
Naidoo said officials from the department of education, as well as the sponsors, aim to deliver a quality league that has professionalism at its core.
“Each of the 10 venues where the games will be played will be co-ordinated by independent match commissioners with referees giving assistance,” said Naidoo.
Mr Price has designed soccer kits in their school colours for each participating team.
The league is a joint venture between the Gauteng Department of Education, Mr Price, local government, Sports Technicals, Johannesburg Emergency Services and the referees associations from the various participating regions.