2012 Future Players Semi-Finals

Johannesburg, Friday, 23 March 2012 – The semi-finals of the 2012 Future Players Talent Search will take place at the Nike Football Training Centre on Saturday (24 March) as the remaining hopefuls in the competition try to impress the coaches and reach the grand final.

Following eight preliminary sessions around the Gauteng province over the last few weeks, a total of 10 boys and girls were chosen from each venue to make up the final field of 80 for what are sure to be hotly contested semi-finals.

Thousands of youngsters aged 13 to 16 took part in the event this year and the best of those have been chosen to move to the semi-finals for displaying exceptional skills on the football pitch.

They will be hoping to emulate the likes of 2009 Future Players Talent Search winner Refiloe Jane, who has gone on to play for the Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies team and just this last Wednesday won her second cap for Banyana Banyana against Ghana.

The semi-finals programme starts at 09h00 and runs through to 11h00 with the grand finale to take place at the Nike Football Training Centre in Soweto on March 31.

The Future Players Talent Search is now in its fourth year and forms part of the Future Champions Gauteng tournament that sees some of the best Under-17 club sides from around the world descend on the province for an international tournament. This year’s competition takes place between March 26-31 and will be held at the Nike Football Training Centre.

For live results of the Future Champions Gauteng international tournament on your mobile, please sms ‘Future Champions’ to 34747 to register (SMS cost R1.50)

  • 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