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The boys Under-16 and 17-and-Under girls event is being hosted by Sakubva 1 High.
The competition will see 12 boys teams and 12 girls teams battling it out in their respective categories.
The teams have been divided into four pools of three. Chemhanza will be representing Mashonaland East and will fight for honours against Sakubva and Mwenezi in Pool C.
Muchakazi said morale was high in camp and they are looking forward to the competition.
“They are ready to compete and morale is high. We promise a good game. This is the first time for our Under-16 and the players are motivated, they are geared up for competition.
“Qualifying for the national finals was a bonus, it’s an achievement and we are going there without any pressure. We are the underdogs but we are going to surprise many,” said Muchakazi.
Zvishavane High coach, Fargen Mashavira, believes his side has all it takes to win the competition.
They will take on defending champions Mzingwane and Ngezi Barracks in Pool A
“We expect good competition from other teams but, of course, we are expecting to win the trophy, we want to bring it to Zvishavane.
“We have the right players, we have abundant talent in Zvishavane so we are expecting the best. The players are eager to play and we are not afraid of any team because we have the depth,” Mashavira said.
Schools like Churchill have won the trophy four times before and will be hoping to bring back the glory days of yesteryear by winning this year’s silver jubilee edition.
In the girls section the competition is likely to be just as tough as five of the schools — defending champions Vainona, Silonga, Matinunura, Chidyamakono and Masocha — have returned after featuring in the competition last year and they are looking for a better result.
This year’s competition will see the top teams progressing to the quarter-finals unlike in the past where only the top team from each group would proceed to the semi-finals. There will be a high level of competition in the group stages as all the teams will have all to play for until the last match.
The winners in boys section gets US$6 500 and the girls will receive US$3 000.
This year’s edition of Copa Coca-Cola is part of Coca-Cola’s global Crazy for Good campaign.
Boys
Pool A: Mzinganwe, Ngezi Barracks, Zvishavane.
Pool B: Gaza, Hwange, Gifford.
Pool C: Sakubva, Mwenezi, Chemhanza.
Pool D: Gwanda, Howard, Churchill.
Girls
Pool A: Vainona, Mosi-a-Tunya, Silonga.
Pool B: Sakubva, Matinunura, Rutanhira.
Pool C: Mbare High, Sodbury, Masocha.
Pool D: Rukweza, St Francis, Chidyamakono.
Online Reporter