2017 Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament Semi-final line up complete

The semifinal line-up at the 2017 Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament is now complete after another excellent day of football at the Nike Football Training Centre in Pimville, Soweto on Wednesday.

Local sides Mamelodi Sundowns and BidVest Wits will join Nigerian outfit NPFL All Stars and defending champions from last year, Atletico Madrid of Spain, in Friday’s semifinals.

Wits and Sundowns are seeking to become the first South African team to win the prestigious Under-17 competition and will fancy their chances after an excellent campaign to date.

Atletico Madrid ensured they reached the semifinals for the second year running after edging local side Orlando Pirates 2-1 in their Group D decider.

Igor Rojo and Nicolas Gudino both scored their first goals on the tournament for the Spanish giants, while Simo Bophela was on target for the Young Buccaneers.

Atletico will face Group B winners BidVest Wits after the latter defeated Russian side Spartak Moscow 3-2 in the deciding match in that pool.

The five goal thriller was ultimately settled by a goal from Malik Mashinini – his seventh of the tournament – with Rowan Human and Leo Mert also on target for The Clever Boys.

Dmitry Markitesov scored a brace for Spartak, but it was not enough to keep them in contention for the trophy.

NPFL All Stars booked their semifinal spot with an 11-0 win over the Football School of India, with Toluwalase Arokodare grabbing four goals and Nazifi Yahaya a brace.

All Stars have now scored 15 goals in the tournament and conceded just once, to underline their potential as possible winners.
They will now meet Mamelodi Sundowns, who beat Belgian side Club Brugge 1-0 in a tense final game on Wednesday to snatch top spot in Group D. Siphamandla Ntuli scored the only goal of the match to set the Tshwane side on their way to the semifinals.
Mexican side Club Tijuana missed out on a place in the final four despite a 3-0 victory over University of Pretoria. Jorge Navarro, Johan Cabreras and Jesus Vega were on target for them.

Finally, Italian side Torino played to a 1-1 draw with SAFA Tshwane as they 2015 winners ended their campaign without a victory.
Thursday is a rest day, with the teams embarking on a cultural tour to learn more about the Gauteng province and South Africa’s history, but the action will return with the play-off matches on Friday, starting at 11h30 and with FREE entrance for fans.

Boca Juniors from Argentina were crowned inaugural Future Champions Gauteng winners in 2009, with Chinese side Shandong Luneng victors in 2010. Atletico Mineiro were the first Brazilian winners when they triumphed in 2011 and then repeated that success in 2012 and 2014, with Club Tijuana victors the year in between.

Torino claimed the trophy in a narrow penalty-shout success over South African side SuperSport United in 2015, while Atletico Madrid are the current defending champions.

Organised by Global Sports International, in partnership with the Gauteng Provincial Government, the tournament features five local sides and seven top teams from around the world.

This year’s Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament will also be supported by the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, the Premier Soccer League, Love Life, Levati Water, Nike, MotorDeal, Clinix Health, Debonairs Pizza, Haagen-Dazs, Spain’s LaLiga and SCORE Energy drinks.

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS
Torino 1 (Nicola Rauti) SAFA Tshwane 1 (Ofentse Mashiane)

BidVest Wits 3 (Rowan Human, Leo Mert, Malik Mashinini) Spartak Moscow 2 (Dmitry Markitesov)

NPFL All Stars 11 (Toluwalase Arokodare 4, Nazifi Yahaya 2, Chisom Onije, Abba Suleiman, Mahmood Aliyu, Tari Joseph, Dini Lawal) Football School of India 0

Atletico Madrid 2 (Igor Rojo, Nicolas Gudino) Orlando Pirates 1 (Simo Bophela)

Club Tijuana 3 (Jorge Navarro, Johan Cabreras, Jesus Vega) Univ. of Pretoria 0

Mamelodi Sundowns 1 (Siphamandla Ntuli) Club Brugge 0

STANDINGS

GROUP A P W D L GF GA GD PTS
NPSL All Stars (Nigeria) 3 2 1 0 15 1 +14 7

SAFA Tshwane (SA) 3 0 2 1 2 5 -3 2

Torino (Italy) 3 0 1 2 2 6 -4 1

GROUP B P W D L GF GA GD PTS

BidVest Wits (SA) 3 3 0 0 25 3 +22 9

Spartak Moscow (Russia) 3 2 0 1 20 3 +17 6

Football School of India 3 0 0 3 0 46 -46 0

GROUP C P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Mamelodi Sundowns (SA) 3 2 1 0 2 0 +2 7

Club Tijuana (Mexico) 3 2 0 1 5 2 +3 6

Club Brugge (Belgium) 3 1 0 2 3 4 -1 3
GROUP D P W D L GF GA GD PTS
Atletico Madrid (Spain) 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 7

Orlando Pirates (SA) 3 1 0 2 6 4 +2 3

Univ. of Pretoria (SA) 3 0 0 3 0 11 -11 0


FRIDAY’S FIXTURES

11h30 – Spartak Moscow vs Orlando Pirates

13h00 – SAFA Tshwane vs Club Tijuana

14h15 – Football School of India vs University of Pretoria

14h30 – NPFL All Stars vs Mamelodi Sundowns

15h45 – Torino vs Club Brugge

16h00 – BidVest Wits vs Atletico Madrid

TOURNAMENT STATS
Matches played: 18
Goals scored: 86
Biggest victory: Football School of India 0 BidVest Wits 20
Most goals in a game: 20 – Football School of India 0 BidVest Wits 20

GOALSCORERS

9 goals – Danila Proshliakov (Spartak Moscow)

7 – Malik Mashinini (BidVest Wits)

5 – Toluwalase Arokodare (NPFL All Stars)

4 – Ethan Andrews (BidVest Wits), Leo Mert (BidVest Wits), Nazifi Yahaya (NPFL All Stars)

3 – Lyle Foster (Orlando Pirates)

2 – Simo Bophela (Orlando Pirates), Rowan Human (BidVest Wits), Mikhail Ignitov (Spartak Moscow), Dali Lawal (NPFL All Stars), Dmitri Markitesov (Spartak Moscow), Fani Mofokeng (BidVest Wits), Kabelo Makola (BidVest Wits), Simon Paulet (Club Brugge)

1 – Mahmood Aliyu (NPFL All Stars), Toluwalase Arokodare (NPFL All Stars), Johan Cabreras (Club Tijuana), Adriana Ferreras (Atletico Madrid), Kirili Folmer (Spartak Moscow), Nicolas Garcia-Morillo (Atletico Madrid), Nicolas Gudino (Atletico Madrid), Egor Ilin (Spartak Moscow), Tari Joseph (NPFL All Stars), Quinson Kapowezha (BidVest Wits), Solly Khunyedi (BidVest Wits), Phakamani Magavu (BidVest Wits), Katlego Mampa (SAFA Tshwane), Ofentse Mashiane (SAFA Tshwane), Bonisile Mbangwa (Orlando Pirates), U Ming (Atletico Madrid), Dmitri Mitroga (Spartak Moscow), Turgay Mokhbaliev (Spartak Moscow), Jorge Navarro (Club Tijuana), Likhanyile Ndlendle (Mamelodi Sundowns), Siphamandla Ntuli (Mamelodi Sundowns), Chisom Onije (NPFL All Stars), Carlos Ramirez (Club Tijuana), Nicola Rauti (Torino), Igor Rojo (Ateltico Madrid), Ruslan Rustamov (Spartak Moscow), Alberto Salido (Atletico Madrid), Visar Shala (Club Brugge), Abba Suleiman (NPFL All Stars), Jesus Vega (Club Tijuana), Kevin Zavala (Club Tijuana)

Own Goals – Ayaan Jasserl (Football School of India), Keenan Phillips (BidVest Wits)

  • 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