THE 4th
edition of the Metropolitan SASFA U-16 Cup national finals kicked off at the

King
Zwelithini Stadium on Tuesday morning as the 18 top schools from around the

country
gathered together in Umlazi, just south of Durban, to compete for the title

of
champions for 2012.

 

 

This
year’s winners will qualify to represent South Africa at the biennial

International
Soccer Federation Schools World Championships, which will be hosted in

France
in April 2013.

 

 

 

The
competition was officially declared open by SASFA president, Mandla ‘Shoes’

Mazibuko:
“On behalf of SASFA I would like to thank our sponsors, Metropolitan, as

well
as the eThekwini municipality for facilitating this competition. To all the

schools,
congratulations on making it this far and good luck for the tournament. May

you
show your best skills and play in the spirit of true sportsmanship,” he said.

 

 

 

The
assembled teams were then treated to a show by local music star, Big Nuz, who

had
the sizeable crowd grooving in the grandstand.

 

 

 

“This
tournament is a key component of Metropolitan’s involvement with youth

development
through football, helping to nurture the stars of tomorrow. On the first

day,
we have already seen the depth of young football talent we have in this country

and I
am excited to see how things unfold as the event progresses,” said, Jennifer

Padayachee,
Metropolitan Sponsorship Manager.

 

The
action got under way early in the morning and it was evident from the start
that

the
tournament will be contested at a very high standard, as all teams arrived well

prepared
and ready to show their best skills.

 

By
the end of the day’s play, Group A remained wide open, with Hudson Nsanwisi

(Limpopo),
Siyahlomula (KZN) and Tikhontele (Mpumalanga) all level on five points

after
three games, while in Group B, Gauteng representatives, Johannesburg Secondary

and
Rosina Sedibane emerged as favourites to qualify for the quarterfinals. Group C

remained
even tighter by virtue of only completing two matches and, with the

exception
of Sternam intermediate from N. Cape, the other five teams each recorded a

win
and a loss in their two opening matches.

 

The
tournament continues on Thursday, with the conclusion of the group
(round-robin)

phase
in the morning, followed by the first round of knockout action involving both

the
winners and losers streams.

 

Results:

 

Group
A

Steenberg
1-0 Setjhabasemaketse

Hudson
Nsanwisi 0-1 Siyahlomula

Matimba
1-0 Tokhontele

Tikhontele
1-0 Steenberg

Matimba
0-6 Hudson Nsanwisi

Setjhabasemaketse
0-0 Siyahlomula

Siyahlomula
0-0 Steenberg

Setjhabasemaketse
6-0 Matimba

Hudson
Nsanwisi 1-1 Tikhontele

 

 

Group
B

Johannesburg
SS 6-0 James Nxumalo

Rosina
Sedibane 3-0 Okiep

Joe
Slovo Freedom 1-4 Harmony

Harmony
0-2 Johannesburg SS

Joe
Slovo Freedom 0-1 Rosina Sedibane

James
Nxumalo 0-2 Okiep

Okiep
0-1 Johannesburg SS

James
Nxumalo 3-3 Joe Slovo Freedom

Rosina
Sedibane 1-1 Harmony

 

Group
C

Bennie’s
Sports Academy 3-1 Reabetswe

Sternam
Intermediate 1-2 Freedom Park

Robinvale
0-0 Pangalele

Pangalele
1-0 Bennie’s Sports Academy

Robinvale
2-1 Sternam Intermediate

Reabetswe
2-1 Freedom Park