Atletico Madrid take the Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament Title

Spanish LaLiga giants Atletico Madrid were crowned the 2016 Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament winners after a 2-1 victory over local South African side Bidvest Wits at the Football Training Centre in Pimville, Soweto on Saturday.

The prestigious junior competition for Under-17 teams has now completed its eighth year and saw 12 clubs compete for the coveted prize and the opportunity to be crowned champions.

The Atletico goals were scored by Joaquin Munoz and Oscar Clemente, with Shungu Dutiro getting the goal for Wits to take his tally for the tournament to six, level with Mamelodi Sundowns’ Siphamandla Ntuli.

It has been two years in a row that a South African side has lost in the final after SuperSport United were beaten by Torino in 2015.

Mexican side Club Tijuana secured the bronze medal as they defeated local favourites Orlando Pirates 2-0 thanks to a brace of goals from Daniel Lopez, who took his tally for the tournament to four.

Defending champions Torino ended in fifth position this year as they beat three-time winners Clube Atletico Mineiro 2-0 with goals from Agostino Rizzo and Nicola Rauti, while the Belgian side Club Brugge made sure they finished seventh in emphatic style with a 6-0 victory over Chinese club Shandong Luneng.

Anton Tange, Rabah Mazbouh, Albion Gashi, Sven Cornette, Nurretin Demir and Ephraim Lavia all scored for the Belgians.

Mamelodi Sundowns claimed ninth place in the tournament thanks to a 1-0 victory over fellow South African side Kaizer Chiefs. Thabo Moloisane scored his first goal of the tournament to edge Sundowns in front Mozambican side Ferroviario de Maputo avoided finishing last as they claimed a 1-0 victory over local club Black Aces. Cabral Americo got the only goal of the game to condemn the young Black Aces side to 12th position.

Sundowns picked up the Fair Play Award for their impeccable discipline through the week. The winner of the Future Coaches programme was also announced with Christa Flora Kgamphe, who plays at the University of Johannesburg and is an aspiring coach.

The Future Champions Gauteng tournament has once again been given an extra edge with local schools adopting one of the 12 competing team as their own, with the intention of rallying support for their side.

The prize for the best supporting school went to Lulama Primary for supporting Club Tijuana with such passion all week.

This year’s Future Champions Gauteng tournament was also supported by the Gauteng Gambling Board, the Spanish LaLiga, the Clinix Health Group, Sedgars’ Winner brand, Levati Water, Motordeal and Score energy drinks.

LaLiga will also be hosting the three winners of the Future Players Talent Identification programme, as well as the most promising coach, Kgamphe, that was run in conjunction with the Future Champions Gauteng tournament.

SATURDAY’S RESULTS
Kaizer Chiefs 0 Mamelodi Sundowns 1 (Thabo Moloisane)

Black Aces 0 Ferroviario Maputo 1 (Cabral Americo)

Atletico Mineiro 0 Torino 2 (Agostino Rizzo, Nicola Rauti)

Shandong Luneng 0 Club Brugge 6 (Anton Tange, Rabah Mazbouh, Albion Gashi, Sven Cornette, Nurretin Demir, Ephraim Lavia)

Orlando Pirates 0 Club Tijuana 2 (Daniel Lopez 2)

Final

BidVest Wits 1 (Shungu Dutiro) Atletico Madrid 2 (Joaquin Munoz, Oscar Clemente)

FINAL STANDINGS

1st – Atletico Madrid (Spain)

2nd – Bidvest Wits (South Africa)

3rd – Club Tijuana (Mexico)

4th – Orlando Pirates (South Africa)

5th – Torino (Italy)

6th – Atletico Mineiro (Brazil)

7th – Club Brugge (Belgium)

8th – Shandong Luneng (China)

9th – Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)

10th – Kaizer Chiefs (South Africa)

11th – Ferroviario Maputo (Mozambique)

12th – Black Aces (South Africa)

TOURNAMENT STATS
Matches played: 30
Goals scored: 73
Biggest victory: Ferroviario Maputo 0 Mamelodi Sundowns 11
Most goals in a game: 11 – Ferroviario Maputo 0 Mamelodi Sundowns 11

GOALSCORERS

6 goals – Shungu Dutiro (Bidvest Wits), Siphamandla Ntuli (Mamelodi Sundowns)

4 – Alessandro Iacuaniello (Torino), Daniel Lopez (Club Tijuana), Pitso Tlotlego (Mamelodi Sundowns)

3 – Oscar Clemente (Atletico Madrid), Agostino Rizzo (Torino)
2 – Alerrandro (Atletico Mineiro), Andy (Atletico Madrid), Nahuel Jose Busato (Torino), Lyle Foster (Orlando Pirates), Edson Khumalo (Bidvest Wits), Lebohang Lesako (Kaizer Chiefs), Edgar Lopez (Club Tijuana), Joaquin Munoz (Atletico Madrid)

1 – Cabral Americo (Ferroviario Maputo), Andrew (Atletico Mineiro), Ethan Andrews (BidVest Wits), Sven Cornette (Club Brugge), Katlego Cwinyane (Orlando Pirates), Diego de Carvalho (Black Aces), Nurretin Demir (Club Brugge), Sibusiso Dlamini (BidVest Wits), Albion Gashi (Club Brugge), Murad-Han Gonen (Club Brugge), Igor (Atletico Mineiro), Indio (Atletico Mineiro), Muzomuhle Khanyi (BidVest Wits), Ephraim Lavia (Club Brugge), Changqi Liu (Shandong Luneng), Chaoyang Liu (Shandong Luneng), Rabah Mazbouh (Club Brugge), Thabiso Monyane (Club Brugge), Thabo Moloisane (Mamelodi Sundowns), Likhanyile Ndlendle (Mamelodi Sundowns), Njabulo Ngcobo (Orlando Pirates), Guille Niero (Atletico Madrid), Nicola Rauti (Torino), Luis Sitoe (Ferroviario Maputo), Anton Tange (Club Brugge)

  • 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