The action continues during the second day of the 11th Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament

Soweto, Tuesday, 26th March 2019 – Home club Orlando Pirates FC became the only side to maintain a 100 percent record after day two of the Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament when they defeated provincial rivals Highlands Park 1-0 at the Nike Football Training Centre in Soweto on Tuesday.

It was a typically robust derby game that was decided by a lone goal in the first half from Katleho Tsotetsi, as he drilled the ball low into the back of the net from just inside the box.

The result makes it two wins from two for Pirates, who are in pole position in Group C to advance to Friday’s semi-finals, after another day of intense action at the prestigious Under-17 tournament that brings together teams from four continents.

Defending champions Club Brugge were held to a 1-1 draw by another local side, Bidvest Wits, in a game of high quality that suggests both teams will be contenders for the trophy in Saturday’s final.

The Belgians scored their goal through Robbie Gheerardyns, but Wits earned a point as Siphesihle Maseko found the back of the net for them.

Spanish side RCD Espanyol claimed a 3-0 victory over the All India Football Federation with their goals scored by Mateo, Arnau and Estanis to leave them top of Group D going into Wednesday’s final round of games.

Russian club FC Spartak claimed a good 2-0 win over fancied Club Tijuana from Mexico as Magomedemin Rabadanov netted his second goal of the competition and Sviatoslav Kozhedub also found himself on the score-sheet.

Local favourites Kaizer Chiefs claimed a handsome 3-0 victory over Chinese visitors Beijing Sinobo Guoan, with Mthokozisi Balakasi grabbing a brace for the AmaKhosi.

Their third goal was scored by Reece Bartlett, who is the son of former Bafana Bafana international Shaun Bartlett, who lifted the Africa Cup of Nations title in 1996 and netted for the national team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

The opening game of the day saw a SAFA Gauteng invitational side defeat Reggio Audace 2-1, with goals from Ryan Manning and Jerome Karelse boosting the home team. Lorenzo Luchena picked up a consolation goal for the Italians.

Wednesday’s action will continue with more mouth-watering fixtures, starting with a clash between the SAFA Gauteng and the All India Football Federation (kick-off 11h30).

Shortly afterwards there will be a match between Beijing Sinobo Guoan and Club Brugge (11h45), with the Chinese side seeking a first win of the competition against the defending champions.

Local team Highlands Park then take on Reggio Audace FC (13h00) in a game that will be a tough one to call, before Bidvest Wits meet Club Tijuana (13h15), where a win for the South African side will seal top spot in their pool and a place in the semi-finals.

Kaizer Chiefs will hope for victory against in-form Russian side FC Spartak (14h30), before a massive clash between Orlando Pirates and RCD Espanyol (16h00) to finish the day.
Entrance to all the matches this week are free!

The Future Champions Gauteng is organised by Global Sports International in partnership with the Gauteng Provincial Government.

This year’s tournament is also supported by LaLiga, Clinix Health, Rand Water, Lovelife, Sedgars Sport and Score Energy Drink.

TUESDAY’S RESULTS

Club Tijuana 0 FC Spartak 2 (Magomedemin Rabadanov, Sviatoslav Kozhedub)

All India FF 0 RCD Espanyol 3 (Mateo, Arnau, Estanis)

Kaizer Chiefs 3 (Mthokozisi Balakasi 2, Reece Bartlett) Beijing Sinobo Guoan 0

SAFA Gauteng 2 (Ryan Manning, Jerome Karelse) Reggio Audace FC 1 (Lorenzo Luchena)
Bidvest Wits 1 (Siphesihle Maseko) Club Brugge 1 (Robbie Gheerardyns)

Orlando Pirates 1 (Katleho Tsotetsi) Highlands Park 0

WEDNESDAY’S FIXTURES

11h30 – SAFA Gauteng vs All India FF

11h45 – Beijing Sinobo Guoan vs Club Brugge

13h00 – Highlands Park vs Reggio Audace FC

13h15 – Bidvest Wits vs Club Tijuana

14h30 – Kaizer Chiefs vs FC Spartak

16h00 – Orlando Pirates vs RCD Espanyol

GROUP STANDINGS

TOURNAMENT STATISTICS
Games Played: 12

Goals scored: 29

Biggest win: Highlands Park 4 All India Football Federation 0
Most goals in a game: 4 – Highlands Park 4 All India Football Federation 0; FC Spartak 1 Bidvest Wits 3

GOALSCORERS

2 goals – Mthokozisi Balakasi (Kaizer Chiefs), Magomedemin Rabadanov (FC Spartak), Albert Risen (Highlands Park)

1 – Arnau (RCD Espanyol), Reece Bartlett (Kaizer Chiefs), Daanyaal Daya (Bidvest Wits), Erick (RCD Espanyol), Estanis (RCD Espanyol), Robbie Gheerardyns (Club Brugge), Jerome Karelse (SAFA Gauteng), Sviatoslav Kozhedub (FC Spartak), Mario Lopez (Club Tijuana), Lorenzo Luchena (Reggio Audace), Ryan Manning (SAFA Gauteng), Siphesihle Maseko (Bidvest Wits), Mateo (RCD Espanyol), Lebo Matshaba (Highlands Park), Ndumiso Mkansie (Bidvest Wits), Riandre Vries (SAFA Gauteng), Siphamandla Msezane (Orlando Pirates), Motihalosi Nare (Bidvest Wits), Cisse Sandra (Club Brugge), Ramses Serrano (Club Tijuana), Katleho Tsotetsi (Orlando Pirates), Yannis van Rumst (Club Brugge), Siyabonga Vilakazi (Highlands Park)

For further information, please visit:

http://facebook.com/futurechampions

http://twitter.com/FutureChampsU17

http://instagram.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