An additional Gauteng team will be given the opportunity to win their place at the 2015

An additional Gauteng team will be given the opportunity to win their place at the 2015 Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament, taking place from March 23-28 in Soweto.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Ghana’s Asante Kotoko has not been able to fulfill their commitment to participate, opening up a place in the prestigious 12-team competition.

With the development coming so close to the looming event, it has been decided that one of the Gauteng teams that participate in the Premier Soccer League will be given the opportunity to book their place.

BidVest Wits, Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs and Mpumalanga Black Aces (who are based in Gauteng) will fight it out for the place at the event on Tuesday, March 17 at the Nike Football Training Centre from 18h00.

The teams will be paired in a semi-final, with the winners facing-off in a deciding match for a place at the 2015 Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament.

“Unfortunately Asante Kotoko cannot make it this year but hopefully they will participate in the next event. However, this opens the door for another of Gauteng’s top teams to compete” said Future Champions Gauteng Tournament Director, Mr Ray Whelan.

Four Gauteng sides are already in the tournament, namely Orlando Pirates FC, University of Pretoria, SuperSport United and Jomo Cosmos.

They are joined by Italian club Torino, ADO Den Haag from Holland and Sunderland AFC of England, as well as Brazilian outfit Cruzeiro.

There will be three other sides from Southern Africa too in K-Stars of Zambia, Oryx FC from Namibia and Mozambican club Ferroviario de Maputo.

  • 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