Day 02 of the Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament

Orlando Pirates FC produced the biggest surprise of day two of the Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament when they defeated three-times winners Clube Atletico Mineiro 3-1 in their Group A clash at the Nike Football Training Centre in Pimville, Soweto, on Tuesday.

The prestigious junior competition for Under-17 teams, now in its eighth year, sees 12 clubs compete for the opportunity to be crowned champions.

Lyle Foster bagged a brace for Pirates to go with a third goal from Katlego Cwinyane as they overwhelmed the Brazilian visitors. Clube Atletico Mineiro’s consolation goal came from Igor.

Spanish LaLiga side Atletico Madrid booked their semi-final place with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Chinese side Shandong Luneng.

Their goal was a second in as many days for Oscar Clemente and leaves Atletico with two wins from two games and top of Group C.

Defending champions Torino defeated Black Aces 2-0 thanks to goals from Nahuel Jose Busato and Agostino Rizzo, a result which ensured Atletico Madrid could not be caught at the top of their pool.

Local side Mamelodi Sundowns and Belgian visitors Club Brugge played to goalless draw in their Group B game that leaves both sides still searching for a first win in the competition.

Mexican side Club Tijuana claimed an excellent 2-0 victory over local Soweto side Kaizer Chiefs that took them to the top of Group B and into the pound seats for qualification for the semi-finals going into the all-important third day.

Their goals came via Edgar and Daniel Lopez, the latter also netting in consecutive matches.

South African side Bidvest Wits picked up the biggest win of the day when they defeated Mozambican outfit Ferroviario Maputo 4-0, thanks to a brace from Shungu Dutiro, and further goals by Ethan Andrews and Muzomuhle Khanyi.

The action continues with six more matches on Wednesday as the teams jostle for semi-final places.

One of the highlights will be a ‘Soweto Derby’ between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates at 16h00.

The Future Champions Gauteng tournament has once again been given an extra edge with local schools adopting one of the 12 competing team as their own, with the intention of rallying support for their side.

The school of the club that wins the tournament in the final on Saturday will receive soccer merchandise to boost their own football programme.

This year’s Future Champions Gauteng tournament will also be supported by the Gauteng Provincial Government, as well as Gauteng Gambling Board, the Spanish LaLiga, Winner, the Clinix Health Group, Sedgars Home Furniture Store, Levati Water, Motordeal and Score energy drinks.

LaLiga will also be hosting the three winners of the Future Players Talent Identification programme, as well as the most promising coach, that is being run in conjunction with the Future Champions Gauteng tournament.

TUESDAY’S RESULTS
Shandong Luneng 0 Atletico Madrid 1 (Oscar Clemente)

Mamelodi Sundowns 0 Club Brugge 0

Kaizer Chiefs 0 Club Tijuana 2 (Edgar, Daniel Lopez)

Ferroviario Maputo 0 Bidvest Wits 4 (Shungu Dutiro 2, Ethan Andrews, Muzomuhle Khanyi)

Orlando Pirates 3 (Lyle Foster 2, Katlego Cwinyane) Atletico Mineiro 1 (Igor)
Black Aces 0 Torino 2 (Nahuel Jose Busato, Agostino Rizzo)

STANDINGS

GROUP A P W D L GF GA PTS
Orlando Pirates (SA) 2 2 0 0 4 1 6

Atletico Mineiro (Brazil) 2 1 0 1 2 3 3

Kaizer Chiefs (SA) 2 0 0 2 0 3 0

GROUP B P W D L GF GA PTS

Club Tijuana (Mexico) 2 1 1 0 3 1 4

Mamelodi Sundowns (SA) 2 0 2 0 1 1 2

Club Brugge (Belgium) 2 0 1 1 0 1 1

GROUP C P W D L GF GA PTS

Atletico Madrid (Spain) 2 2 0 0 4 0 6

Black Aces (SA) 2 0 1 1 1 3 1

Shandong Luneng (China) 2 0 1 1 1 2 1
GROUP D P W D L GF GA PTS
BidVest Wits (SA) 2 1 1 0 5 1 4

Torino (Italy) 2 1 1 0 3 1 4

Ferroviario Maputo (Moz) 2 0 0 2 0 7 0


WEDNESDAY’S FIXTURES

11h30 – BidVest Wits vs Shandong Luneng

13h00 – Atletico Madrid vs Black Aces

14h30 – Torino vs Ferroviario Maputo

14h45 – Atletico Mineiro vs Mamelodi Sundowns

16h00 – Kaizer Chiefs vs Orlando Pirates

16h15 – Club Tijuana vs Club Brugge

TOURNAMENT STATS
Matches played: 12
Goals scored: 24
Biggest victory: Ferroviario Maputo 0 BidVest Wits 4
Most goals in a game: 4 – Ferroviario Maputo 0 BidVest Wits 4; Orlando Pirates 3 Atletico Mineiro 1

GOALSCORERS

2 goals – Andy (Atletico Madrid), Oscar Clemente (Atletico Madrid), Shungu Dutiro (Bidvest Wits), Lyle Foster (Orlando Pirates), Daniel Lopez (Club Tijuana), Agostino Rizzo (Torino)

1 – Ethan Andrews (Bidvest Wits), Katlego Cwinyane (Orlando Pirates), Diego de Carvalho (Black Aces), Sibusiso Dlamini (BidVest Wits), Edgar (Club Tijuana), Igor (Atletico Mineiro), Indio (Atletico Mineiro), Nahuel Jose Busato (Torino), Muzomuhle Khanyi (BidVest Wits), Changqi Liu (Shandong Luneng), Thabiso Monyane (Club Brugge), Pitso Tlotlego (Mamelodi Sundowns)

  • We had a wonderful football and cultural experience in Gauteng. The tournament and activities were very well organized and we found everyone involved extremely helpful and accommodating. We have all returned home with fantastic memories of our time in South Africa, both on and off the pitch, and have made many new friends as a result of the trip. I hope that we are invited to participate in future tournaments.

    Everton Academy Head Coach

  • The experience both on and off the field for our players during the Future Champions tournament in Gauteng was life-enriching for all those who participated. We were privileged enough to win this edition but what will be bringing us back in future is the cross-cultural education our players receive from spending time with athletes from all over the world. They are human beings before they are football players and enriching them with other cultures is as rewarding as the experience they receive on the field.

    Club Tijuana Director of Football

  • After twenty years of experiencing tournaments around the globe, Future Champions is hands down the best organized, well run International Tournament we have ever participated in. Bringing teams from dozens of different countries provided our boys exposure to cultural diversity they only read about in textbooks. It’s amazing how sport can be the cultural link that provides the opportunity to interact with each other and discover that our global community is a bit smaller than they realized. We had a football and cultural experience that will be cherished for the rest of our lives.

    Director of USYSA Select

  • For us to compete in Future Champions is much more than playing a series of matches. It is an opportunity to compete and contrast our level against the best teams from around the world and the possibility of living in another culture and environment for an unforgettable week, learning about the history of the fight for human rights.

    Director of Aspire Academy

  • The addition of a girls’ competition this year is a natural expansion for what has become a hugely popular event. Over and above the football, the players are also exposed to life-skills courses and HIV/AIDS awareness that could end up saving their lives in the future. We have had an amazing partnership with the Gauteng Province over the last decade and we thank each and every stakeholder for making the Future Champions Gauteng campaign such a huge success

    Tournament director