COPA Coca Cola finals set for this weekend

The semi-finals and finals of this year’s edition of the COPA Coca Cola football tournament will be held this weekend in Nyamagabe District, South Province. Nyanza, Kamonyi, Rutsiro and Nyagatare are in contention for the two available slots in the final of the women’s category while Nyamagabe, Muhanga, Nyarugenge and Rubavu will be battling it out for a place in the boys’ final. The draws of the semi-finalists will be made today at Groupe Scolaire ACEPER in Nyamagabe and the semifinals will be played tomorrow with the winners meeting in the final on Sunday. The Bralirwa-sponsored U-17 tournament through their soft drinks Coca Cola brings together teams from all districts across the country in a competition that showcases their talent. The seventh edition of the annual event started four months ago with over 400 teams across the country competing for a place in the final but only eight teams (four for boys and four for girls) are still in the race for the top prize worth Rwf500, 000 and a trophy. “This tournament helps our young players to develop their talents and the top players get a chance to go and train at some of the best academies under world class coaches,” explained Paterne Rwigema, the Rwanda School Sports Federation (RSSF) secretary general. He further added that, “The tournament has become more serious with more people and children being a part of the event. It is more exciting than in the previous years and we hope to see the best finals over the weekend. We have indentified many talented children and they will be the future of Rwandan football.” The first runners-up will walk away with Rwf300, 000 while the third and fourth-placed teams will bag Rwf200, 000 and Rwf150, 000 respectively. editorial@newtimes.co.rw