adminCOPA Coca-Cola continues to make dreams of aspiring footballers come true amid news that they will send two Zimbabwean boys to Lindow, Germany for a training camp in July.
The youngsters, one from Mzilikazi High School in Bulawayo and the other from Oriel Boys High School in Harare. The camps run from 26 July to 31 July.
According to information obtained by this publication, boys born after 1 July 2000 were eligible for the trip and the two schools have been asked to nominate the players, preferably those with passports.
With the modalities involved, those responsible for the trip have decided not to wait until after the national finals of the Copa Coca-Cola set for 17 to 19 July in Bulawayo to have the players identified.
Mzilikazi, winners of the Copa Coca-Cola five times, were the best performing school from the southern region at last year’s national finals held in Harare where they reached the semi-finals while Oriel lost out to Chemhanza in the final.
National Association of Secondary Heads president Johnson Madhuku, speaking at the official launch of this year’s Copa Coca-Cola at Chidyamakono High School in the Chivi District of Masvingo last Friday expressed his gratefulness to Coca-Cola for affording the youngsters such an opportunity.
On top of the opportunity afforded to the two boys, the 2015 Copa Coca-Cola Dream Team is heading to a training camp in South Africa in September.
Last year, two local lads Tatenda Tumba and Tatenda Munditi were in Brazil for six days during the 2014 Soccer World Cup courtesy of Copa Coca-Cola. The two, members of the Chemhanza team which won the boys title in 2013, attended a training camp and watched some of the matches at the World Cup before returning home.
Meanwhile, the stage is now set for the 2105 edition of the country’s most prestigious schools soccer competition the Copa Coca-Cola following the official launch of the competition.
Schools from across the country are already contesting in the tournament at cluster level with the district finals set for Friday where the winners go on to contest for the provincial crown on 3 July from where the victors will join the defending champions and the host school for the national competition in Bulawayo.
Sponsored by Coca-Cola together with its bottling partners in Zimbabwe, Delta Beverages and Mutare Bottling Company, the Copa Coca-Cola tournament has since 1989 become a permanent feature of the schools second term calendar.
A first prize of $6 500 accompanied by a trophy is up for grabs in the boys category while for the girls, the top prize is $3 000 which comes with a trophy.
As part of their efforts to uplift the winners of the Copa Coca-Cola, the world’s leading beverage company donated a water pump to Chidyamakono, which will not only benefit the school but the surrounding rural community.
Online Reporter