Emtfonjeni come out tops among primary schools

Emftonjeni became the 2013 Build it tournament champions after conquering Sifunindlela by 4-2.

Sixteen primary schools competed in the tournament and only four made it to the semi-finals were Sifunindlela defeated Mvangataini 1-0 and Emftonjeni defeated Phakane 3-2 to make it to the finals.

According to former Bafana Bafana coach Clive Barker, who was watching the games and has been working with the Built it group for years now, there is a lot of talent he has spotted from the tournament, and he is happy that the boys take soccer as a serious career.

“From watching these young boys I can see they are very talented and they also play excellent soccer and I am looking forward to see the next Andile Jali from them,” he said.

He also added that he will come back one day and teach coaching techniques and other skills to the boys so they can be the best players in the world.

The champions walked away with a full soccer kit from Build it and six months subscription to Kick-Off magazine.

The runner-up went home with kit bags, miniature trophies and a six-month subscription to Kick-Off magazine, and all the other teams received Fifa balls and T-shirts. Henry Bhiya, the coach of Emftonjeni, said as a school they were happy to be crowned champions twice as last year they took the title.

“This is not the end, we would like to thank Build it for making us see the importance of soccer in our schools, we hope it will grow, and this is a way of encouraging our children to be active in sports and improve education in schools, we also hope that next year we can win this tournament.” He also added that as schools they were very happy to see other local companies investing in sports.

Best player of the tournament went to 13-year-old Nando Khoza of Sifunindlela Primary, who was spotted by Barker. He also received a trophy.