St Marks’ raw talent secures them victory

St Marks International School in Mbombela are the 2015 Mpumalanga champions in the COPA Coca-Cola u/15 Football Tournament. The school won the provincial tournament hosted by Coca-Cola in conjunction with the South African Schools Football Association (SASFA), held at the KamHlushwa Stadium in Saturday. St Marks lifted the trophy after beating Zecheous Malaza Secondary School 3-1 in the final, despite starting the day on the wrong foot suffering a 3-1 defeat to Lindile Secondary School. COPA Coca-Cola is a global initiative that gives millions of young football fans a chance to come together and celebrate their passion for football, and also affords them the opportunity to realise their greatest potential by living an active healthy lifestyle.

The South African initiative searches for raw talent to find the best u/15 school teams, as well as the most promising u/15 talent in the country by conducting level-by-level knockout competitions. Furthermore, COPA Coca-Cola added a new innovation to the 2015 edition of the tournament through the new “Which Part Will You Play” campaign which recognises that every footballer plays an important role in their team beyond football skills. Coca-Cola will be selecting an invitational side, which will travel to the COPA Coca-Cola® National Finals, comprising of 11 individuals who epitomise the key components which make up a successful football team. Mandla Mokoena, a striker from Zecheous Malaza Secondary School, was selected to join the invitational side after being identified as “The Legend”. Mokoena was selected for his fearless and impressive defensive skills which helped keep his team reach the final. Mokoena will join the 10 other players selected at the COPA Coca-Cola National Finals scheduled for September 23 to 26.