A heap of soccer success for Louis Botha Technical

GENERAL JUBILATION: Pupils of the Technical High School Louis Botha celebrate after they won the Top 20 high school soccer event at Grey College in Bloemfontein. Picture:

The Grey College Top 20 Soccer Tournament for High Schools ended in spectacular fashion when Technical High School Louis Botha from Bloemfontein won after a penalty shootout against St Francis College from KwaZulu-Natal.

The midfielder, Ernest Madathoana, who scored the winning goal, and his teammates ran in jubilation over the field and jumped on each other to form a massive heap of bodies in one corner. The final score was 2-1.

Louis Botha not only lifted the winner’s trophy, made from glass, but took awards for ideal goalkeeper of the tournament (Ofentse Motlhakane) and ideal defender of the tournament (Mpusana Tani).

Another local school from Bloemfontein, Kagisho, won the fair play team of the tournament award with the ideal sportsmanship and discipline.

After the game, the coach of the winning team, Norman Ngomba, praised his players for their hard work and dedication. He stated the team’s success in tournaments all over the country was because they had been playing together for the past three years.

“They were recruited at primary school,” he said.

During the Captains Dinner at Grey College on Friday night, the tournament director Ludwig Koekemoer from the host school stated the tournament had always brought young men from diverging backgrounds together and in doing so, enhanced their appreciation of one another.

Koekemoer told the players to learn from their failures and successes and use a precious resource called “experience”, to improve their quality of life, whether it was in business, coaching or the way they played sport.

Gary Long, regional manager of Nedbank and one of the sponsors of the tournament, stated the Captains Dinner had its traditions in the cruise line industry and it was an honour to be invited to have dinner with the captain of the ship, primarily because of the many fascinating stories the captain traditionally has up his sleeve.

“Tonight brings to a close three days of fierce competition and camaraderie. Sport has the unique capability to transcend boundaries and lay the foundation for a lifetime of memories and tales,” he said.

Long stated legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly was famously quoted as saying: “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death and I am very disappointed with that attitude.

“I can assure you it is much, much more important.

“I’m sure we can all concur that there is more to life than football and tonight is a celebration of that fact. To be elected as a captain is a great honour, and the person who fills the position usually has earned particular distinction among his peers.”

Long added: “The skills you have displayed in order to be elected as a captain will stand you in good stead for the future. These skills extend to the world of finance and, I’m sure you will agree, a sound financial footing is an enabler to you achieving your goals in life.”

Long stated by sponsoring events like the Grey Top 20, Nedbank was actively assisting South Africans to achieve their goals.

» Technical High beat St Francis College with the score 2-1

» Team members been playing together for three years

» Team members recruited at primary school level

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