Mbombela’s St Mark’s crowned national champions in Kay Motsepe Cup
St Mark’s School in Mbombela celebrated double success as their U19 boys won the national Kay Motsepe Cup and the U13 girls secured second place.
The U19 boys of St Mark’s School in Mbombela have been crowned the national champions of the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup. The championship ran from Wednesday, October 8, to Saturday, October 10.
St Mark’s pocketed R3m in prize money after clinching the win at Giant Stadium in Soshanguve on Saturday.
The boys team is not the only one that made a mark, as the U13 girls displayed incredible skill, finishing second and earning R400 000 after a thrilling 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory against St Anne’s.
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In the final, the St Mark’s boys faced Fumani Secondary School from Katlehong, Gauteng, and secured a 1-0 win.
Tom Selabela, the sports manager at St Mark’s and Easthigh Academy, said the school dominated the game right from the start in the first half.
They made a strong start, pressing hard for an early goal, but failed to convert a few clear chances. By the end of the first half, both teams had not scored a goal.
In the second half, St Mark’s missed a lot of chances to score. Then goalkeeper Melusi ‘Suluke’ Mathebula scored the decisive goal, securing the national championship for St Mark’s. Selabela said he was happy that they prepared well for this tournament.
According to him, they didn’t make it to the finals in previous years. In 2022 they lost in the group stages, in 2023 they lost in the semi-finals and in 2024 they lost in the quarter-finals.
He said despite dividing the team due to the Engen Cup Championship in Pretoria, they still managed to win.
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The Kay Motsepe championship is a prominent annual event that brings together over 13 000 school teams from across South Africa to compete in various sports, promoting youth development, leadership and community engagement.
Sponsored by Sanlam in partnership with the Motsepe Foundation, the championship seeks to empower young athletes by offering a platform to showcase their talents and develop essential life skills.
