Petauke crowned Copa Coca-Cola 2017 champians

Eastern Province’s Petauke Day School are the new reigning champions of the 2017 COPA Coca-Cola schools’ football tournament.
Petauke went up against nine other teams to emerge as the victors in the finals held in Lusaka over the weekend after a thrilling final which ended 2-1 to Mwavi Secondary School of Lusaka. Sekela Secondary School from Chingola were third, beating Northern Provnce’s Ituna Secondary School 3-2.
“Congratulations to this year’s champions and I hope you continue to excel both on and off the field. I am certain that among the talented young players in this tournament will be some of our future stars,” said Coca-Cola Marketing Activations Manager for Zimbabwe and Zambia Takunda Jinda.
Over 400 schools participated in this year’s preliminary knockouts between July and August with the best ten teams from each of the ten provinces in the country qualifying to the finals. Crowds turned out to support the country’s future football stars at the National Heroes Stadium and Olympic Youth Centre (OYDC).
“Coca-Cola remains committed to bringing football to the grassroots and we hope to give a boost to high school football in the country as well as grow the national sports talent bank,” said Mr Jinda.
The champions walked away with K15,000 in prize money while second runner up Mwavi Secondary School went home with K10,000. Third runner ups Sekela walked away with K7,500.
Minister of Youth, Sport and Child Development, Hon. Moses Mawere, who presented the teams with the prizes, pointed to the need for a more deliberate inclusion and integration of physical education in the various schools stating that it remained a priority for the Ministry.
“A knowledgeable and healthy population is integral to our development. We have an opportunity that is unique; a population that is mostly comprised of the youth. This means that we have the energy, the enthusiasm, the talent, and the creativity of approximately 10 million young people at our disposal. What we do with this; how we groom and shape this generation, will determine the future of Zambia for the next 50 to 100 years,” said Hon. Mawere.
The minister went on to note that a seamless integration of the two areas of intellectual and physical education would only be possible if both teachers and physical educators came together to produce well rounded student athletes.
He further commended Coca-Cola, as a private sector partner, for stepping up in complementing the efforts of driving education and sports in line with the development agenda of the country.
The tournament has several professional football players among its alumni including 2012 AFCON winners squad captain Christopher Katongo, Stoppila Sunzu and Kennedy Mweene.
The former captain, who was present at the finals, urged the young players to be deliberate in the pursuit of their dreams by planning and acting on those plans to achieve their goals stating that much was expected from them as the nation was looking to them to change the face of Zambian Football.
“What you see on match days is a small part of the life of a player. Behind the scenes, it is all about hard work, discipline, determination and teamwork. It has been an amazing two days and kudos to the schools and all the hard work that the players and their coaches put in,” he said.
“This is the first time the COPA Coca-Cola is being held at the National Heroes Stadium. I think it was a good move because we have a rich football history and it is important for the young footballers to remember where we are coming from and also important for us to see where we are heading with these young ones today,” Mr Katongo pointed out.
“We are very happy with the turnout and efforts that the different teams have put in as our goal is to produce footballers that will represent Africa well on the international stage. We hope to motivate and see more talented young players show up with every year. It’s been a privilege to witness the hard work and excellent sportsmanship displayed by our young athletes and teams as they reached deep and pushed their limits to emerge as the best over the past two days and indeed throughout the whole tournament leading up to today,” concluded Mr Jinda.
Mr Jinda reiterated the global beverage company’s continued commitment to helping create stronger communities as well as impart disciplines that can enhance productivity and overall contribution to society through sporting activities such as football.
“We are currently looking into widening our reach so you can expect higher levels of professionalism and coordination, serious talent scouting and grooming,” he said.
COPA Coca-Cola is the premier grassroots football tournament, sponsored by Coca-Cola 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 sponsorship package has grown annually, with the 2017 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.
COPA Coca-Cola is the largest brand-supported grassroots football tournament in the world, played in over 68 countries by 1.3 million teenage players, with the aim of inspiring young people to be active and healthy through their shared passion for the sport. The tournament originated in Zimbabwe in 1989 with the aim of seeking to support the development of budding grassroots talent and promote active, healthy lifestyles among young people, popularised by Mexico, and was launched in Zambia in 1993 as Secondary Schools Soccer tournament and migrated to COPA to fit in the international structure in 1998.
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 68 countries over 1.3 million players.