adminTHE national finals, the Copa Coca-Cola, the country’s most prestigious schools soccer tournament, will be staged in the Matabeleland South provincial capital Gwanda in July.
Coca-Cola Zimbabwe brand manager Vee Chibanda confirmed the venue of the competition that will be in its 28th year for the boys and sixth for the girls, is on from 22 to 24 July with the final matches set for Pelandaba Stadium.
With Matabeleland South having the rights to organise this year’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.
What also gave Gwanda the edge was that the border town was the venue for the tournament in 2006 when the finals were played at Plumtree High School.
“We can confirm that Gwanda town, the Matabeleland South provincial capital, is the host of this year’s edition of Copa Coca-Cola national finals after the Bulawayo province successfully hosted it last year. This is the 28th edition for the Under-16 boys and 6th edition of the Under-17 girl’s tournament that Zimbabwe pioneered and it has now gone international, 62 other countries now play Copa Coca-Cola in all continents,’’ said Chibanda.
“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 country’s 10 provinces. This year, its Matabeleland South’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,’’ added Chibanda.
On whether as sponsors they were satisfied with the kind of infrastructure in Gwanda if it is to successfully host these games which bring together 12 boys 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 successful host the games.
A total of 12 grounds have been identified for use, these being two each at Gwanda High, Senondo Primary, and St Christopher Primary while one pitch will be used at Jahunda Primary, Gwanda Secondary School, Pelandaba Stadium, Showgrounds, Joshua Mqabuko Polytechnic and Prisons.
“Coca-Cola is always with people and within their homes and environs, and Gwanda is no exception. We will have a fruitful Copa in Gwanda as the town meets the minimum standards that we expect for the hosting of the national finals.
“We understand Gwanda recently hosted the Zimbabwe National Paralympics Games in April (31 March to 4 April). We therefore expect the town to be in very good shape after successfully hosting an event of such magnitude.
“We expect a minimum of eight grounds for the Copa Coca-Cola finals from the group stages to the finals and Gwanda has shown that it has more than the stated number and facilities.
“We would love to have the finals staged at Pelandaba Stadium, but this will depend on the availability of the facility and the granting of permission from the owners of the stadium,’’ said Chibanda.
The official launch of this year’s tournament is set for 20 May at Dewure High School, the winners of the boys final held in Bulawayo last year. This year’s theme is around the international premise of “Taste the Feeling”.
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 year’s boys’ champions Dewure and Chidyamakono, who have won the championships three times in a row.
Online Reporter