Gauteng Future Champs Hit Soweto for Finals

By INFO SUPPLIED 23/03/2012 04:47:00 Font size: Developmental programme…GFC is growing popular outside SA Gauteng is set to experience a week of action-packed soccer when the 2012 Future Champions Gauteng takes place in Pimville, Soweto. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Soccer enthusiasts will be able to share in the winning experience when a host of road shows take place on Saturday, 24 March and Friday, 30 March at Maponya Mall in the build-up to the event. The prestigious junior international tournament for the Under-17 age-group is back for its fourth year and has a superb field of international and local teams who will compete from March 26-31 for the right to be crowned champions. It will feature some of the best Under-17 sides in the world taking Mzansi”s finest over six days of competition at the Nike Football Training Centre in Soweto, with Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro seeking to retain their crown from 2011. The road show events at Maponya Mall will give visitors the opportunity to get to know more about the 2012 Future Champions Gauteng, meet some of the future players, as well as receive great promotional giveaways from the Gauteng Provincial Government. The festivities will be enhanced by the appearance of Kaya FM personalities, who will entertain the crowd and hand out the promotional giveaways. The road shows gets under way at 12h00 and will run until 14h00. T he Future Champions Gauteng tournament is also delighted to announce the ambassador for the 2012 competition in the form of ex-Manchester United and Bafana Bafana star Quinton Fortune. GFC GROUPS: Group A: School of Excellence (SA) KStars (Zambia) New England Revolution (USA) Group B : Orlando Pirates FC (SA) FC Nania (Ghana) Nacional (Uruguay) Group C: Bidvest Wits (SA) Aspire (Qatar) Clube Atletico Mineiro (Brazil) Group D: Mohloli High School (SA) Young Zebras (Botswana) PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) For further information and results, please visit http://facebook.com/futurechampions http://twitter.com/FutureChampsU17

  • 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