All a 14-year-old girl wanted to do since she was small, was to play football with the boys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Omphiwe Coko from Khayelitsha, who is in Grade 8 at Curro\u2019s Meridian Pinehurst School in Durbanville, was only four years old when she joined the boys playing football in the street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the challenging circumstances that usually come with living in a single-parent home in an underprivileged township, this early start bore fruit as she was now selected to play football on the world stage \u2013 in the upcoming Gothia Cup, which will take place in Sweden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is the world\u2019s largest youth football tournament and will take place from 13 to 24 July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Omphiwe will represent Cape Town\u2019s Rainbow Team in the girls u-16 category, after impressing with her talents on the pitch, according to a media release by the school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her team will join 1 700 other young footballers from 80 different countries around the world. Together they will play approximately 4 500 matches on 110 pitches across Sweden. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her mother, Nandipha Coko, who works as an administrator at an agricultural company in Montague Gardens, said to TygerBurger<\/em> she never once bought her daugter a doll to play with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe always wanted just a ball, since she was small. I am very proud of her,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the age of five years, Omphiwe followed her older brother, Naba (18), to the Morning Stars football practices and she soon joined the junior boys teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After Morning Stars Omphiwe joined the girls\u2019 RV United Team for a short while. \u201cBut she did not like to play with girls and went back to Morning Stars, where she played with boys until she was nine,\u201d Coko said. She also has a younger son, Liqhame (8).<\/p>\n\n\n\n From there Omphiwe joined the girls\u2019 RV United Team for the next three years under the guidance of coach Vuyo Kayem, who quickly became her biggest fan and paternal role model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He encouraged her to apply for the Ruta Sechaba Foundation programme, which provides school scholarships and bursaries to underprivileged learners at Curro and Curro-managed schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks to her sporting talents, Omphiwe was able to join Meridian Pinehurst at the start of this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her big breakthrough came last month when RV United played a match against the Rainbow Team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Rainbow Team coaches immediately recognised her talent and offered her the opportunity of a lifetime \u2013 to join the team competing in the Gothia Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Omphiwe currently spends most days at practises between the two teams and commutes from Khayelitsha to Clifton for her evening practise sessions with the Rainbow team coaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBeing selected means the world to me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis will be my first time travelling abroad and I am so happy and excited and feel very privileged to be able to represent the Rainbow Team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPlaying football brings joy to my heart, and I hope my selection will encourage others not to give up on their dream,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dean Marsh, executive head at Meridian Pinehurst, said they are exceptionally proud of Omphiwe\u2019s success and wish her the best of luck in Sweden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe is another great example of how important the Ruta Sechaba Foundation initiative is \u2013 in not only providing deserving learners with quality education, but also exposing them to opportunities that excel their passions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" All a 14-year-old girl wanted to do since she was small, was to play football with the 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