Mbekweni success at International Cup of Heroes competition

Team Mbekweni has finished an amazing 3rd place at the International Cup of Heroes competition, a superb result considering this was their first time at the international final and they were competing against eleven other teams, many seasoned campaigners.

The SCORE Cup of Heroes is a multi-skilled competition in which teams compete in three sports codes – netball, football and volleyball – as well as off the field activities that stretch the minds and imaginations of tomorrow’s future leaders. This year’s theme was “Youth changing the World”.

The team has spent months preparing for the competition, undertaking physical training, coaching clinics, researching and practicing their presentations, and doing community service in Mbekweni. Assigned Scotland as their ‘partner’ country, the team has learnt all about Scottish culture, traditions and cuisine, teaching themselves Scottish dancing, and even wearing kilts!

All their hard work has paid off. Having won the Western Cape regional competition at the start of August, the team made a 15 hour road trip to Johannesburg for the International final last weekend. For many of the team it was the first time they’d travelled outside the Western Cape and they used the long journey to build an even stronger team spirit. Winning both the boys and mixed football competitions, Mbekweni really were untouchable in football, a result their coach attributed to having the indoor centre to practice regardless of the weather conditions outside. They also won the “Own Culture” presentation competition, with an excellent and moving portrayal of the life of a young girl growing up and becoming a woman in their community.

SCORE Executive Director, Stefan Howells recognizes the team’s achievements, “Team Mbekweni did extremely well and were very impressive all round, especially considering this is their first time at the International Cup of Heroes”.
Well done and congratulations to Team Mbekweni!