Top African teams to participate in the 2015 Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament

Teams from the African continent have always brought their own sense of flair to the Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament and this year there will be four more sides hoping to become the first African winners of the prestigious event.

The Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament will take place at the Nike Football Training Centre, Pimville, from March 23-28.

Returning for a record seventh time will be Zambia’s K-Stars, who have featured in every event since the inception of the project in 2009 and been among the leading African contenders on a number of occasions.

They reached the semi-finals in both 2011 and 2012 and have always been popular participants.

The club is owned by Zambian legend Kalusha Bwalya and has a reputation for producing top talent in the country. Indeed, the club has already given a number of players to the Zambian junior national team.

They finished sixth last year and will expect to be among the leading teams again in 2015.
Appearing for the first time is Ghanaian side Asante Kotoko, who are considered the top side in the powerful West African nation.

They have won the Ghana domestic league Championship a record 24 times and have won the African Champions League twice before as well.

They are a powerhouse of the region and count current national team stars such as Harrison Afful, Samuel Inkoom and Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, as well as legends Samuel Kuffour and Tony Yeboah among their former players.

It is almost certain that future Ghana international players will be on view with the team in 2015.

Asante Kotoko will not be the first Ghanaian side to appear at the Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament, that honour went to Nania FC in 2012.

Competing for the first time from Mozambique will be Ferroviario de Maputo, who are a team with a rich 90-year history and have eight Mozambican Championships to their name.

Their list of former players includes Mozambique internationals Danito Cuta, Paulito and former Portugal star Alberto Costa Pereira who would go on to have a stellar career with giants Benfica.

The team is based in Maputo and will be the first side from the country to compete at the Future Champions Gauteng tournament.Adding spice to this year’s tournament will also be Oryx Football Club, a Namibia team made up of some of the best players from the Southern African nation.It will be the first time a team from South Africa’s neighbors has been invited to participate in the event, but of course there have long been close football ties between the two countries.

There are many Namibian players who have featured in South Africa’s Premier Soccer League and the country continues to produce top talent for the region.
Entrance to watch the games is free, with the action beginning at the Nike Football Training Centre from Monday, 23rd March 2015.

  • 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