The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
COMPETITIVE inter school sport finally returns this year without the prestigious 15 and under Copa Coca Cola tournament after the sponsors indicated that they will not be able to bankroll the competition this year.
This year’s Copa Coca Cola tournament would have been the 32nd edition of the competition.
The 2022 edition of the Copa Coca Cola tournament was set to get underway this week with district finals across the country ahead of the provincial finals slated for July 22.
The national finals had been slated this month end in Masvingo.
The provincial finals for Manicaland had been tentatively set for Mutare.
However, National Association of School Heads (NASH) head in charge of football in Manicaland John Muyocha told Post Sport that the sponsor indicated that they will not be able to have the tournament this year.
Muyocha said apart from the Copa Coca Cola tournament, the NASH Under 17 tournament district finals have been slated for next week Friday and the provincial finals scheduled for July 23.
The national finals are set for Mashonaland Central the first weekend of next month.
Muyocha said: “We are happy to have these games back. The pandemic was a major drawback for us and obviously everyone in the sports industry.
“However, we are not going to have our Copa Coca Cola tournament after the sponsor indicated that they will not be able to fund the competition this year. We had already made arrangement to have the district finalsthis week and move on the provincial finals on July 22. The provincial finals for Manicaland had already been tentatively set for Mutare.
“We will have a meeting soon to map the way forward for the 15s and under age group. Nonetheless, we are going to have the NASH and Proton/Surrey competitions at the prescribed dates. We hope our schools will abide by the guidelines and rules set out during these competitions,” said the Ndima Secondary head.
In recent years, the country’s flagship high schools’ football competition, the Copa Coca-Cola 15-and-Under boys and Under 16 girls’ tournament, kicked off in May with zonal games, reached its climax with the national competition in July following the conclusion of provincial finals.
Nyamauru High School of Dangamvura high density suburb in Mutare have dominated the girls football competition in recent years while Mutare Boys High have been a regular feature at the Copa Coca Cola national finals.
However, in 2019, the last edition to he held before the lengthy Covid-19 induced break, Matebeleland’s Mpopoma High School beat Nyamauru High School 5-4 in the finals to claim the Copa Coca-Cola girls victory.
The finals match was played at Rimuka Stadium in Kadoma.
The Mpopoma girls met Nyamauru in the finals for the consecutive second time and unlike the previous year and the Matebeleland side managed to emerge the winners.
That was the 31st edition of the national Copa Coca Cola football tournament for Under-15 boys and Under 16 girls.
Schools around Manicaland, just like all the other parts of the country, have been bracing for the return of sporting action almost three years after all was put on ice owing to the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.
Schools reopened for the 2022 second term in May without any meaningful sporting activities taking place as the country was cautious and still trying to manage further spread of the pandemic.
The Manicaland NASH head in charge of football also confirmed that the Proton/Surrey NASH Under 20 tournament district finals will be staged on July 16 while the provincial finals are set for July 23.
The national finals, Muyocha said, are set for Midlands province on August 7.
