The 2011 Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools cup has come and gone having been presented in Mangaung from the 13 to 16 July 2011.
Clive Solomon stadium, Mangaung Outdoor Sports Complex and Seeisa Ramabodu stadium were abuzz with soccer activities as school soccer Teams from around the country battled it out for the corvetted SANLAM Kay Motsepe cup.
Saturday, 16 July started with the 3rd and 4th position play-off at the Seisa Ramabudo stadium at 10:00, with Ncedo Senior Secondary School from the Eastern Cape and Johannesburg Secondary School battling it out.
Ncedo was too strong for Johannesburg, and pipped the R500 000 price money and 3rd place in the tournament by beating Johannesburg Secondary School with a convincing 2 - 0. Johannesburg Secondary School did not go home empty handed. They received 4th place cheque for R400 000.
But the main honors stayed in the host province, with Harmony High School taking 1st place in a tense final match against Westridge Secondary School from the Western Cape.
The match did end up in a 0 - 0 draw, but due to Harmony ending top of the table after the knock-out rounds, the home team grabbed the R1 million price money for the second consecutive year. Westridge will be happy with their performance, and took home a healthy R600 000 runners-up cheque.
The prize money will be used not as cash, but to be applied in legacy projects in the communities of the prize winners.
The Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, would like to extend our congratulations to the Motsepe Foundation for hosting and initiating the under-19 School Soccer tournament that culminated in a very exciting final on Saturday 16th July 2011.
It is with gratitude that the Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation again thank Sanlam as the title sponsor, as well as the South African Schools Football Association, Mangaung Metro and Department of Education for their partnership in the quest to promote school sport.
We look forward to hosting the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Cup finals in the Free State again next year, with the tournament heading to the picturesque Parys.
