This year’s COPA Coca-Cola grassroots school soccer tournament reaches its climax next week as ten teams battle it out for the coveted title.
The draw for the week-long finals was held today (Friday, August 7), with Group A consisting of Chongwe Secondary School, High Ridge Secondary School, Mitondo Secondary School, Chizongwe Secondary School and Mungwi Technical School. Group B consists of Kaoma Secondary School, Samfya Secondary School, Solwezi Secondary school, Mpika Secondary School and Linda Secondary School.
The teams in each group will play each other in the preliminaries and winners in group A will play runners-up in group B at semi-finals level and winners in group B will play runners-up in group B. The top two teams will play the final and runners-up will play for third and fourth position. The winners will walk away with K15,000 and the runners up get K10, 000 and the third position will get K7, 500.
The event will see ten teams compete in finals starting on Monday, August 10, culminating in the final on Saturday, August 15 at the Olympic Youth Development Centre in Lusaka, from which the best 13 players are selected to form the country’s COPA Coca-Cola team that will travel to Pretoria, South Africa for international camps from 7 to 12 September 2015.
More than 5,000 schoolchildren from across the country took part in this year’s COPA Coca-Cola grassroots school soccer tournament – now in its 22nd year.
High Ridge Secondary School from Central province are the defending champions while Chongwe boys from Lusaka province were the runners up for 2014. Both teams have again made it in the top ten for 2015, representing their respective provinces.
COPA Coca-Cola is the premier grassroots football tournament sponsored by the drinks brand in partnership Zambia Schools Sports Association (ZASSA) and the Ministry of Education. The initiative commenced in 1993 with only 100 schools participating and has now grown to include 450 government and private schools in Zambia.
The tournament also has a number of professional football players among its alumni including 2012 AFCON winners Stoppila Sunzu and Kennedy Mweene.
“For close to 98 years now, Coca-Cola has associated its brand with football. Because of our long-standing involvement with football, we understand and share the fans’ passion for the sport. As the world’s most popular sport, football attracts countless young people who hope to one become professional soccer stars one day. Coca-Cola, the world’s most valuable brand, promotes COPA Coca-Cola programmes in several nations to help many teens take strides toward making those dreams a reality. We are proud of our efforts to help football grow and develop in Zambia, at all levels,” said Annabelle Degroot, Managing Director of Zambian Breweries, which bottles Coca-Cola in Zambia.
The sponsorship package has grown annually, with the 2015 package going towards prize money, transport and logistics, accommodation and meals for teams and officials, kits and other Coke branded clothing, soccer balls, hire of football pitches and payment to referees.
This year’s package includes for the first time support for girls’ teams, with kits and soccer balls and plans to develop girls’ teams further as the organisers study the roles and structures of the tournament.
Over 400 schools participated in the regional and provincial games which took place between April and July this year. The best 10 teams then qualified for this year’s tournament, with each of the 10 provinces in the country being represented by one of the schools.
In recent years camps have been held in Brazil, South Africa and England and comprise both developmental and competitive games. Participants interact with other boys from various parts of the world and are trained by expert coaches.
In 2011, the Zambia’s 2010 “dream team” won the international camp tournament that was played at Chelsea Football Club in England.
As part of its Live for a Difference commitment to communities, COPA Coca-Cola promotes an active, healthy lifestyle while fostering teens’ interest in soccer. The tournament offers youth an opportunity to meet and interact with peers across the country as well as other nations. The programme also provides opportunities to recognize rising soccer talent among community youth.
In order to broaden their exposure and heighten their aspirations to become “the best of the best” in football, Coca-Cola also leverages its unique association with FIFA to give the young stars a once-in-a-lifetime experience to watch an international match live.
Across Africa, COPA Coca-Cola is played in 23 other countries that include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, Botswana, Namibia, Rwanda, Congo, Swaziland, Nigeria and South Africa, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius and Burundi. Outside the continent, COPA Coca-Cola is also played in the Americas, Europe and Asia and is in a total 64 countries over 1.3 million players.