adminFungai Muderere
THE countrya��s prestigious schools tournament, Copa Coca Cola, begins this month with zonal finals set to take place on 27 May.
The district and provincial finals are scheduled for 10 June and 8 July respectively while the national finals will be in Gwanda from 22 to 24 July.
Coca Cola Zimbabwe brand manager Vee Chibanda confirmed the finals venue of the schools contest that will be in its 28th year for the boys and sixth for the girls with the final matches set for Pelandaba Stadium.
The official launch of this yeara��s tournament is set for 20 May at Dewure High School, the winners of the boys final held in Bulawayo last year. This yeara��s theme is around the international premise of a�?Taste the Feelinga�?.
With Matabeleland South having the rights to organise this yeara��s national event, it is understood that Gwanda and Plumtree were in the forefront but Coca-Cola and the National Association of Secondary Heads agreed that the provincial capital be the venue.
a�?We can confirm that Gwanda town, the Matabeleland South provincial capital, is the host of this yeara��s edition of Copa Coca Cola national finals after the Bulawayo province successfully hosted it last year.
a�?This is the 28th edition for the Under 16 boys and 6th Edition of the Under 17 girla��s tournament that Zimbabwe pioneered and it has now gone international, 62 other countries now play Copa Coca-Cola in all continents,a��a�� said Chibanda.
The last time the province staged the final was in 2006 when Plumtree High School played host.
a�?Coca Cola strives to reach every corner of Zimbabwe identifying and nurturing football talent. As a result, we and Nash adopted a policy to have the hosting of national finals rotated among the countrya��s 10 provinces. This year, ita��s Matabeleland Southa��s turn to host the tournament. The province has hosted it before in Plumtree and this time we move to Gwanda as we spread it,a��a�� added Chibanda.
On whether as sponsors they were satisfied with the kind of infrastructure in Gwanda to stage the games which bring together 12 boysa�� teams and the same number of girl schools, Chibanda pointed out that with the town having recently held the National Paralympics Games, and it was in good stead to successfully stage the games.
A total of 12 grounds have been identified for use, these being two each at Gwanda High, Senondo Primary, and Saint Christophera��s Primary while one pitch will be used at Jahunda Primary, Gwanda Secondary School, Pelandaba Stadium, Showgrounds, Joshua Mqabuko Polytechnic and Prisons.
Gwanda High School have gained automatic entry as the boys hosts while Colleen Bawn are going to the national finals as the home team for the girls.
They are joined by last yeara��s boysa�� champions Dewure and Chidyamakono, who have won the championships three times in a row.
Online Reporter