The 2012 Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament Final Day

Johannesburg, Saturday, 31 March 2012 – Clube Atletico Mineiro from Brazil have retained their Future Champions Gauteng crown after a scintillating 2-1 victory over Uruguay’s Nacional in the 2012 final that was played at the Nike Training Centre in Pimville, Soweto, on Saturday.

The Brazilians claimed the trophy last year and returned in 2012 to once again assert their dominance in this prestigious international Under-17 tournament that has become a key fixture on the junior football calendar.

Both these teams produced excellent performances to reach the all-South American final and did not disappoint with another superb display of attacking football in the decider.

But a brace from Clube Atletico Mineiro’s Ze Alberto, taking his tally to five for the competition, was enough for the Brazilians. Nacional’s goal came from the prolific Marcos Labandeira, his sixth of the tournament that leaves him joint top-scorer with Orlando Pirates’ Siyanda Ngcobo.

Earlier in the day, the School of Excellence made sure they did not finish last in the rankings when they defeated Mohloli High School 2-0 in the 11th-place play-off. Their goals came fromMoses Raphepele and Kgosi Sejosingoe in what was a comfortable win in the end.

Ghana’s FC Nania took eighth-place after they defeated South African side Bidvest Wits 1-0 thanks to a Abraziz Abankwah goal. Wits end ninth, unable to build on their sixth-place finish in 2011.

Qatar’s Aspire Academy finished a credible seventh with a 1-0 win over Botswana’s Young Zebras, Sultan Abdelhamid getting the goal. It was a case of déjà vu for the Young Zebras, who also finished eighth last year.

Orlando Pirates FC were the top performing South African side as they ended in fifth place and qualified for the 2012 Future Champions Belo Horizonte in Brazil following an entertaining 4-2 win over New England Revolution from the USA. Ngcobo moved to the top of the tournament’s scorer charts when he netted his sixth of the competition, to go with strikes from Tshepo Liphoko, Nhlakanipho Ntuli and Sizwe Twala for the Buccaneers.

K-Stars of Zambia went one better than their fourth-place finish in 2011 when they took third this time round, beating Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven 1-0 in a tense play-off. Austin Muwowo got the only goal of the game.

And so the curtain comes down on another fabulous Future Champions Gauteng tournament that saw 84 goals scored in 30 games, some 11 more than last year. There were also games that will live long in the memory for those who witnessed them, and some excellent individual performances.

But aside from the international tournament, there was also the 2012 Future Players Talent Search that saw thousands of leaners from around the province display their skills to the judges over the past month in the hope of being scouted as the next big thing.

The three winners for this year are Tshepo Linda (Soweto), Lerato Mosia (Garankuwa) and Karabo Moleme (Alexander), who will all be hoping that this honour is a springboard to a professional career in football.

There was also a prize for the top coach through the Future Players Talent Search, which was won by SAFA Tshwane tactician Keneilwe Mathibela.

The Future Champions Gauteng tournament, organised by Global Sports International on behalf of the Gauteng Provincial Government, has grown into one of the top Under-17 competitions on the global football calendar and is now in its fourth year.

Boca Juniors from Argentina were crowned champions in 2009, with Chinese side Shandong Luneng victors in 2010. Clube Atletico Mineiro was the first Brazilian winners when they triumphed last year.

SATURDAY’S RESULTS
School of Excellence 2 (Moses Raphepele, Kgosi Sejosingoe) Mohloli High School 0
FC Nania 1 (Abraziz Abankwah) Bidvest Wits 0
Aspire Academy 1 (Sultan Abdelhamid) Young Zebras 0
Orlando Pirates FC 4 (Tshepo Liphoko, Siyanda Ngcobo, Nhlakanipho Ntuli, Sizwe Twala) New England Revolution 2 (Guyllain Kabala, Declan McCabe)
K-Stars 1 (Austin Muwowo) PSV Eindhoven 0
Clube Atletico Mineiro 2 (Ze Roberto 2) Nacional 1 (Marcos Labandeira)

FINAL PLACINGS
1st – Clube Atletico Mineiro (Brazil)
2nd – Nacional (Uruguay)
3rd – K-Stars (Zambia)
4th – PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)
5th – Orlando Pirates FC (South Africa)
6th – New England Revolution (USA)
7th – Aspire Academy (Qatar)
8th – Young Zebras (Botswana)
9th – FC Nania (Ghana)
10th – Bidvest Wits (South Africa)
11th – School of Excellence (South Africa)
12th – Mohloli High School (South Africa)

STANDINGS
Click here

TOPSCORERS
6 – Marcos Labandeira (Nacional), Siyanda Ngcobo (Orlando Pirates FC)

5 – Ze Alberto (Clube Atletico Mineiro)

3 – Collins Asare (Nania FC), Carlos (Clube Atletico Mineiro), Nhalanipho Ntuli (Orlando Pirates FC), Yago (Clube Atletico Mineiro)

2 – Abraziz Abankwah (FC Nania), Joshua Aditser (FC Nania), Guyllain Kabala (New England Revolution), Clint Leemans (PSV Eindhoven), Tshepo Mashigo (School of Excellence), Joseph Mukomena (K-Stars), Emmanuel Mumba (K-Stars), Gaston Pereiro (Nacional), Thembinkosi Phiri (Bidvest Wits), Thatayaone Ramatlapeng (Young Zebras), Moses Raphepele (School of Excellence)

1 – Sultan Abdelhamid (Aspire Academy), Ahmed Al-Sadi (Aspire Academy), Daniel Apajee (New England Revolution), Sultan Bakhit (Aspire Academy), Davy Daka (K-Stars), Tristan Gatter (Bidvest Wits), Mawolo Gissie (New England Revolution), Richard Dorrego (Nacional), David Kashanga (K-Stars), Bongani Khanyile (Orlando Pirates FC), Amadu Kunateh (New England Revolution), Tsotlhe Leshetla (Young Zebras), Tshepo Liphoko (Orlando Pirates FC), Johnfer Luna (Nacional), Mohamad Mahmoed (PSV Eindhoven), Marcelo (Clube Atletico Mineiro), Declan McCabe (New England Revolution), Tshidiso Monamodi (Bidvest Wits), Kabelano Mooketsane (Young Zebras), Kabelo Moshane (School of Excellence), Austin Muwowo (K-Stars), Albert Ngosa (K-Stars), Evans Omani (FC Nania), Leandro Otormin (Nacional), Ebenezer Osei (FC Nania), Christian Sady (New England Revolution), Casey Schehl (New England Revolution), Kgosi Sejosingoe (School of Excellence), Eric Tuffour (FC Nania), Sizwe Twala (Orlando Pirates FC), Jouneid Yachou (PSV Eindhoven), own goal

For further information and results, please visit:

http://facebook.com/futurechampions
http://twitter.com/FutureChampsU17

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  • 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