Over the past weekend (9-11 December 2022) leading automotive brand Volkswagen hosted the inaugural VW Vaya Cup which saw 16 under 13 boys’ and eight under 16 girls’ soccer teams battling it out with the hopes of being crowned the first VW Vaya Cup Champions.
The event was attended by VW Vaya Cup ambassadors, Simphiwe Dludlu – former Banyana Banyana captain and now head coach of the South African U17 Women’s National Team – as well as Lehlohonolo Majoro of Amazulu and Thembinkosi Lorch of Orlando Pirates.
Launched this year, the VW Vaya Cup soccer tournament forms part of Volkswagen’s commitment to ‘Drive People Forward’ by providing a platform for young soccer players, to not only showcase their sporting talent but to also provide a framework within which young girls and boys can be further upskilled on and off the field.
With the apt motto of the event – Driving Youth Soccer, the tournament creates a platform to find sporting opportunities and build a community with soccer being the common denominator.
And this proved to be a great success as hundreds of children descended on the Wits Sturrock Park Grounds in Auckland Park, with their coaches, friends and parents in tow.
The competition’s aim is to use the ‘bottom-up’ approach – developing the country’s football sector from a grassroot level, thereby nurturing the youth and shaping the future the sport.
The teams that took part used the names of different VW dealerships around the country for the tournament.
Mamelodi Sundowns’ U16 girls and U13 boys were in excellent form as they won the inaugural competition – playing as Bidvest McCarthy Volkswagen Constantia and Lindsay Saker Midrand respectively.
Coached by Sundowns Ladies’ trio of Rhoda Mulaudzi, Andisiwe Mgcoyi and Andile Dlamini, and assisted by captain Zanele Nhlapo, the U16 girls’ team was outstanding, winning all their matches en route to lifting the trophy.
But both sides were made to sweat with the girls winning 1-0 while the boys took the title after a tense penalty shoot-out.
The two winners not only walked away with the bragging rights to be the 2022 VW Vaya Cup champions, but they have also won an international training camp experience at FC Porto in Portugal.
CentreCircle.online spoke to Steffen Knapp – Brand Director Volkswagen South Africa: Volkswagen Group South Africa about the tournament.
How important is VW’s involvement in youth football?
As a brand, we have been supporting soccer development initiatives for over 20 years. At Volkswagen we believe that sport in South Africa, specifically soccer, is more than a game, a passion point, career dream or spectator hobby; it has the power to play a beneficial role in youth development which helps to facilitate individual and team growth while building healthy passions and habits. With ‘Vaya’ meaning ‘to go’, VW Vaya Cup soccer tournament initiative speaks to Volkswagen’s commitment to ‘Move People Forward’.
What brought about the involvement – what did you see that other corporates don’t see?
The tournament used to be called VW Junior Masters Tournament, we took the decision to localise the tournament and thus renamed and rebranded it to the ‘VW Vaya Cup’. For VW it is important to be a part of the local community and give something back to our society. Supporting our youth means shaping the future.
The involvement of girls seems to rank highly on your plans too…
At Volkswagen we believe in equal opportunity for both girls and boys. Soccer represents unity in South Africa. The VW Vaya Cup soccer tournament is a platform for talented boys and girls to not only find sports opportunities, but to also create community around one of the country’s most loved game. This tournament supports and promotes youth development regardless of gender.
Had a great tournament this past weekend, what for you was the take-away?
There was an excellent display of talent and skill amongst the players this past weekend. As a brand which wants to ‘Move People Forward’, we will continue to support this initiative because we can see the tangible impact it has in the hearts and minds of these youngsters.
And how long is VW’s involvement?
We have been supporting football initiatives for over 20 years now. The VW Vaya Cup football tournament will continue in the next coming years.
What for VW will be the greatest achievement/milestone over the next coming years? What do you hope to achieve?
The VW Vaya Cup forms part of Volkswagen CSI initiatives. As one of the country’s leading automotive brands, we want to make a difference in the communities we operate in; early childhood and youth development initiatives are incredibly important to us as a brand. We would also love to see some of the girls and boys who enter the VW Vaya Cup being signed by the various clubs so that they can play football professionally.
Why trip to FC Porto (Portugal)
We looked at some other club training offerings and FC Porto just gave us the better offering for the winning teams.
How important is that exercise?
This bespoke training camp will expose the kids to the professional club environment as well as get to learn and train from professional coaches. The camp includes training sessions, performance analysis (covering individual and team), friendly matches against local teams and the opportunity to watch a live FC Porto match.
By Matlhomola Morake
