Durban – While for some pupils last week Friday meant the closure of schools and a break from activities, girls from Edendale Technical High School, in Pietermaritzburg, are preparing to take part in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) African Schools Football Championship Continental Final taking place in Durban’s King Zwelithini Stadium, in uMlazi this week.
The girls’ competition will feature six other teams which are Ecole Omar Ibn Khatab (Morocco), Scan Aid (The Gambia), CEG Colby (Benin), CEG Mfilou (Congo-Brazzaville), Fountain Gate Dodoma Secondary School (Tanzania), and Anse Boileau from Seychelles.
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture, Amanda Bani-Mapena said the province was ecstatic at hosting the championships and having a resident team participate in the event which takes place between April 5 and 8.
“We are very excited about this feat achieved by Edendale. This is a great boost to our school sport project relaunched in early September,” said the MEC.
The achievements of the girls’ team over the years has surprised many because Edendale Technical High School used to be a boys only school when it was founded back in 1956 and only became co-ed in 1996.
The school won the girls’ competition at the Cosafa qualifiers in Lilongwe, Malawi last year making them eligible for this week’s Continental Final championship. They also won the best schools’ team award at the KwaZulu-Natal Sports Awards in the same year.
The MEC expressed hope that the team will inspire the next generation of women footballers.
“In the long run and through this achievement we can safely envision a bright future of Banyana Banyana as the girls mature as football players,” the MEC stressed.
She encouraged members of the public to attend the tournament and provide support to competing teams.
The tournament has been billed as a celebration of schools football on the continent and a chance for the young players aged 12-15 to create memories that will last a lifetime.