Day 01 of the Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament

Spanish side Atletico Madrid were the big winners on the opening day of the 2016 Future Champions Gauteng tournament staged at the Nike Football Training Centre in Pimville, Soweto on Monday.

The prestigious junior competition for Under-17 teams, now in its eighth year, sees 12 clubs from across the globe compete for the coveted prize and the opportunity to be crowned champions.

Debutants Atletico made the perfect start to their bid for the title with a 3-0 success over Mozambican outfit Ferroviario de Maputo, who return for a second year running to the event.

Atletico star Andy bagged a brace of goals to go with a third strike for Oscar.

Defending champions Torino from Italy were held to a 1-1 draw by impressive local side Bidvest Wits.

Agostino Rizzo has given the Italians the lead in the first half, but Sibusiso Dlamini banged in an equaliser in the second period.

Chinese side Shandong Luneng were held to a 1-1 draw by South African club Black Aces, who had scorer Diego de Carvalho to thank for getting them a point. Changqi Liu found the back of the net for the visitors.

Pitso Tlotlego, who is still eligible at Under-14 level, scored a second-half equaliser for local favourites Mamelodi Sundowns in their 1-1 draw with Mexican side Club Tijuana.

Daniel Lopez had given the Central American side the lead.

Thabiso Monyane scored the only goal of the game as Orlando Pirates defeated Belgian visitors Club Brugge 1-0. Monyane netted in the first half and The Buccaneers were able to hold on for the win.

Clube Atletico Mineiro started their campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Kaizer Chiefs, handed to them by a first half goal from Indio.

Mineiro managed to hold onto their lead after goalkeeper Mendez saved a Chiefs penalty with just a few minutes remaining on the clock.

The action continues with six more matches on Tuesday as the teams jostle for semi-final places.

This year’s Future Champions Gauteng tournament will also be supported by the Gauteng Gambling Board, the Spanish LaLiga, Winner, the Clinix Health Group, Sedgars Home Furniture Store, 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, that is being run in conjunction with the Future Champions Gauteng tournament.

MONDAY’S RESULTS
Bidvest Wits 1 (Sibusiso Dlamini) Torino 1 (Agostino Rizzo)

Ferroviario Maputo 0 Atletico Madrid 3 (Andy 2, Oscar)

Shandong Luneng 1 (Changqi Liu) Black Aces 1 (Diego de Carvalho)

Mamelodi Sundowns 1 (Pitso Tlotlego) Club Tijuana 1 (Daniel Lopez)

Atletico Mineiro 1 (Indio) Kaizer Chiefs 0

Orlando Pirates 1 (Thabiso Monyane) Club Brugge 0

STANDINGS

GROUP A P W D L GF GA PTS
Atletico Mineiro (Brazil) 1 1 0 0 1 0 3

Orlando Pirates (SA) 1 1 0 0 1 0 3

Kaizer Chiefs (SA) 1 0 0 1 0 1 0

GROUP B P W D L GF GA PTS

Club Tijuana (Mexico) 1 0 1 0 1 1 1

Mamelodi Sundowns (SA) 1 0 1 0 1 1 1

Club Brugge (Belgium) 1 0 0 1 0 1 0

GROUP C P W D L GF GA PTS

Atletico Madrid (Spain) 1 1 0 0 3 0 3

Black Aces (SA) 1 0 1 0 1 1 1

Shandong Luneng (China) 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
GROUP D P W D L GF GA PTS
BidVest Wits (SA) 1 0 1 0 1 1 1

Torino (Italy) 1 0 1 0 1 1 1

Ferroviario Maputo (Moz) 1 0 0 1 0 3 0


TUESDAY’S FIXTURES

11h30 – Shandong Luneng vs Atletico Madrid

13h00 – Club Brugge vs Mamelodi Sundowns

14h30 – Kaizer Chiefs vs Club Tijuana

14h45 – Ferroviario Maputo vs BidVest Wits

16h00 – Orlando Pirates vs Atletico Mineiro

16h15 – Black Aces vs Torino

TOURNAMENT STATS
Matches played: 6
Goals scored: 11
Biggest victory: Ferroviario Maputo 0 Atletico Madrid 3
Most goals in a game: 3 – Ferroviario Maputo 0 Atletico Madrid 3

GOALSCORERS

2 goals – Andy (Atletico Madrid)

1 – Diego de Carvalho (Black Aces), Sibusiso Dlamini (Bidvest Wits), Indio (Atletico Mineiro), Changqi Liu (Shandong Luneng), Daniel Lopez (Club Tijuana), Thabiso Monyane (Club Brugge), Oscar (Atletico Madrid), Agostino Rizzo (Torino), Pitso Tlotlego (Mamelodi Sundowns)

  • 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