Atletico Madrid Retain their Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament Title

Spanish side Atletico Madrid retained their Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament trophy when they defeated Nigerian side NPFL All Stars 2-1 in the final at the Nike Football Training Centre in Pimville, Soweto on Saturday.

Atletico won the trophy last year and showed excellent consistency again in 2017 as they edged All Stars in the decider to deny the Nigerians the chance of becoming the first side from Africa to lift the trophy.

Adrian Luque netted the opener for Atletico, before the West Africans equalised from the penalty spot via Nazifi Yahaya, who netted his seventh goal of the tournament.

But the winner came from Alberto Salido with his fourth of the year and the Spanish side played out the final minutes to claim the victory.
Mamelodi Sundowns won the battle of the South African sides when they defeated BidVest Wits 2-0 to claim the bronze medal.

Likhanyile Ndlendle and Siphamandla Ntuli netted for Sundowns, who claim their best ever finish in the Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament.
The 2013 winners Club Tijuana from Mexico picked up fifth position when they eased past another South African side, Orlando Pirates, with a 3-0 success.

Oscar Cisneros, Samuel Lopez and Etson Ayon netted for the Central Americans.

Spartak Moscow defeated local side SAFA Tshwane 5-1 as the competition’s top-scorer, Danila Proshliakov, took his tally for the tournament to a remarkable 11 goals.

Kirill Folmer and Nikita Sudarikov also netted for the Russians, while SAFA Tshwane’s Nelson Mosupoe put the ball into his own net. The ‘home’ side scored a consolation through Katlego Mampa.

Torino were champions two years ago, but the Italians only managed ninth position this year, which was secured with a 5-0 win over South African outfit University of Pretoria. Davide Munari (two), Nicola Rauti, Fabio Gonella and Riccardo D’Ippolito netted for the Italians.

The match between the Football School of India and Belgian side Club Brugge was treated by the two teams as a skills-sharing exercise, with a number of players swapping sides to give them experience of playing alongside players from different continents and cultures. The game ended 5-5.

As part of the rich entertainment that was on display, there was also an exhibition women’s match played between the club of Banyana Banyana captain Janine van Wyk, JvW FC, and Tshwane University of Technology. JvW FC won 3-0 thanks to goals from Tyla Bree Joss (1) and Gabriela Salgado (2).

Also announced on Saturday were the winners of the Future Players Gauteng Talent Search, all of who will travel on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Spain later this year.

Vuyo Xabanisa from the Kwa-Bhekilanga Secondary School in Alexandra impressed with her skills, along with Thabang Ralele from the Kgomotso Comprehensive High School in Soshanguve and Thembelihle Fikile from Forest High School in Johannesburg.
The winning coach was Sakhile Nkomo from Real Sweepers in Orlando in Soweto.

Atletico are the second side to win the trophy twice, after Brazilian outfit Atletico Mineiro, who claimed the title in 2011, 2012 and 2014. Boca Juniors of Argentina (2009) and Chinese side Shandong Luneng (2010) are other winners, along with Club Tijuana (2013) and Torino (2015).

Organised by Global Sports International, in partnership with the Gauteng Provincial Government, the tournament features five local sides and seven top teams from around the world.

This year’s Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament will also be supported by the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, the Premier Soccer League, Love Life, Levati, Nike, MotorDeal, Clinix Health, Debonairs Pizza, Haagen-Dazs, Spain’s LaLiga and SCORE Energy drinks.

SATURDAY’S RESULTS

University of Pretoria 0 Torino 5 (Davide Munari 2, Nicola Rauti, Fabio Gonella, Riccardo D’Ippolito)

Spartak Moscow 5 (Kirill Folmer, Nikita Sudarikov, Danila Proshliakov 2, Nelson Mosupoe og) SAFA Tshwane 1 (Katlego Mampa)

Orlando Pirates 0 Club Tijuana 3 (Oscar Cisneros, Samuel Lopez, Etson Ayon)

Mamelodi Sundowns 2 (Likhanyile Ndlendle, Siphamandla Ntuli) BidVest Wits 0

NPFL All Stars 1 (Nazifi Yahaya) Atletico Madrid 2 (Adrian Luque, Alberto Salido)

FINAL STANDINGS

1st – Atletico Madrid (Spain)

2nd – NPFL All Stars (Nigeria)

3rd – Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)

4th – BidVest Wits (South Africa)

5th – Club Tijuana (Mexico)

6th – Orlando Pirates (South Africa)

7th – Spartak Moscow (Russia)

8th – SAFA Tshwane (South Africa)

9th – Torino (Italy)

10th – University of Pretoria (South Africa)

11th – Club Brugge (Belgium)

12th – Football School of India (India)

TOURNAMENT STATS
Matches played: 29
Goals scored: 132
Biggest victory: Football School of India 0 BidVest Wits 20
Most goals in a game: 20 – Football School of India 0 BidVest Wits 20

GOALSCORERS

11 goals – Danila Proshliakov (Spartak Moscow)

7 – Malik Mashinini (BidVest Wits), Nazifi Yahaya (NPFL All Stars)

5 – Ethan Andrews (BidVest Wits), Toluwalase Arokodare (NPFL All Stars), Valli Baloyi (University of Pretoria)

4 – Leo Mert (BidVest Wits), Sibusiso Nkosi (University of Pretoria), Alberto Salido (Atletico Madrid)

3 – Lyle Foster (Orlando Pirates), Rowan Human (BidVest Wits), Davide Munari (Torino), Nicola Rauti (Torino)

2 – Simo Bophela (Orlando Pirates), Johan Cabreras (Club Tijuana), Kirili Folmer (Spartak Moscow), Mikhail Ignitov (Spartak Moscow), Dali Lawal (NPSL All Stars), Samuel Lopez (Club Tijuana), Katlego Mampa (SAFA Tshwane), Dmitri Markitesov (Spartak Moscow), Fani Mofokeng (BidVest Wits), Kabelo Makola (BidVest Wits), Likhanyile Ndlendle (Mamelodi Sundowns), Siphamandla Ntuli (Mamelodi Sundowns), Simon Paulet (Club Brugge), Jesus Vega (Club Tijuana)

1 – Sadig Abdullahi (NPFL All Stars), Mahmood Aliyu (NPFL All Stars), Aitor Alvarez (Atletico Madrid), Toluwalase Arokodare (NPFL All Stars), Etson Ayon (Club Tijuana), Oscar Cisneros (Club Tijuana), Riccardo D’Ippolito (Torino), Lars Dendoncker (Club Brugge), Adriana Ferreras (Atletico Madrid), Nicolas Garcia-Morillo (Atletico Madrid), Fabio Gonella (Torino), Nicolas Gudino (Atletico Madrid), Egor Ilin (Spartak Moscow), Tari Joseph (NPFL All Stars), Quinson Kapowezha (BidVest Wits), Solly Khunyedi (BidVest Wits), Adrian Luque (Atletico Madrid), Phakamani Magavu (BidVest Wits), Ofentse Mashiane (SAFA Tshwane), Bonisile Mbangwa (Orlando Pirates), U Ming (Atletico Madrid), Dmitri Mitroga (Spartak Moscow), Turgay Mokhbaliev (Spartak Moscow), Kandrin Naidoo (University of Pretoria), Jorge Navarro (Club Tijuana), Ifeanichukwu Okolo (University of Pretoria), Chisom Onije (NPFL All Stars), Carlos Ramirez (Club Tijuana), Rodrigo Riquelme (Atletico Madrid), Igor Rojo (Ateltico Madrid), Ruslan Rustamov (Spartak Moscow), Visar Shala (Club Brugge), Nikita Sudarikov (Spartak Moscow), Abba Suleiman (NPFL All Stars), Eduardo Viana (Atletico Madrid), Kevin Zavala (Club Tijuana)

Own Goals – Ayaan Jasserl (Football School of India), Nelson Mosupoe (SAFA Tshwane), Keenan Phillips (BidVest Wits).

  • 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