MAHIKENG MAIL - MAHIKENG - More than 500 u/15 soccer-playing boys and girls from across the province will play on 3 August in their district teams in Potchefstroom, vying for a place in Team North West.
Those selected will later play in Gauteng against their counterparts from other parts of the country. The big prize: Winning the right - as Team North West - to represent South Africa at African Schools Football Championships, under the auspices of the Confederation of African Football (Caf), later in the year.
Team North West and the preceding trials are backed by the Department of Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation (ACSR), as well as the Department of Education.
A bedrock of sports in the country, the School Sport Programme is a critical component of the country’s sport sector. The Programme uses the National School Sport Championships (NSSC) to achieve some of its objectives.
The programme ensures that learners are allowed to participate in at least one sporting code.
One of the programme’s objectives is to increase the pool of talented athletes that feed the national teams, thereby increasing chances of international success.
It also increases the opportunity for learners from all schools to participate in organised sporting events, which will broaden the base for talent selection.
