Everton to take on Club Tijuana in the 2013 Future Champions Gauteng finals

Johannesburg, Friday, 29th March 2013 – English side Everton and Mexican outfit Club Tijuana will meet in the final of the 2013 Future Champions Gauteng competition at the Nike Football Training Centre in Pimville, Soweto on Saturday.

Everton knocked out defending champions Atletico Mineiro in their semi-final on Friday, ending the two-year reign of the Brazilian outfit as champions of this event.

The young Toffees booked their place in the final with a well-worked goal from Calum Dyson, while goalkeeper Matthew Hewlett made a number of outstanding saves.

Club Tijuana sealed their place in the final with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon. The match was a tight battle but was decided by a goal from Rene Flores.

The Mexicans started the competition with an opening day draw against SuperSport United, but have steadily improved as the week has gone on.

An incident in the match between SuperSport United and Qatar’s Aspire Academy that saw a scuffle break out between the teams was deemed serious enough to see both sides disqualified from the 2013 Future Champions Gauteng competition.

“We were very disappointed with the conduct of both teams and as such have launched an internal investigation to ascertain the facts of the incident. However, a decision has been taken that neither side will participate on the final day of the competition on Saturday and as such have been disqualified,†said Tournament Director Ray Whelan.

“The Future Champions Gauteng tournament promotes Fair Play and a high standard of conduct from the competing teams. This incident was below those standards we set,†continued Whelan.

University of Pretoria defeated K-Stars 2-1 after goals from Donald Makgetlwa and Keamogetswe Legwai. John Phiri replied for the Zambian side but they could not claw their way back into the game.

The same two sides will meet again in an exhibition match on Saturday, as University of Pretoria have already secured their 5th place finish.

Young Zebras of Botswana beat SAFA Sedibeng 8-7 in an epic penalty shoot-out after those two teams had finished their match at 1-1. Nkosinathi Mollo scored for the South African side, while Andrew Makopo found the back of the net for the Zebras.

And in the first game of the day, Nigerian side Bridge FC beat Jo’burg Secondary School 1-0 with a strike from Olamilekan Olabinjo.

In Saturday’s final round of fixtures, Jo’burg Secondary will take on SAFA Sedibeng for ninth place at 08h00. Bridge FC take on Young Zebras for seventh at the same time.

University of Pretoria take on K-Stars at 09h15, before the third-place play-off between Sporting Lisbon and Atletico Mineiro (10h30).
The 2013 Future Champions Gauteng final between Everton and Club Tijuana will be played at 12h00, when a new title-holder will be crowned.

Boca Juniors from Argentina were champions in 2009, with Chinese side Shandong Luneng victors in 2010. Atletico Mineiro were the first Brazilian winners when they triumphed in 2011 and then repeated that success last year.

FRIDAY’S RESULTS:

Jo’burg Secondary 0 Bridge FC 1 (Olamilekan Olabinjo)
SAFA Sedibeng 1 (Nkosinathi Mollo) Young Zebras 1 (Andrew Makopo)
Young Zebras win 8-7 on penalties.
University of Pretoria 2 (Donald Makgetlwa, Keamogetswe Legwai) K-Stars 1 (John Phiri)
Club Tijuana 1 (Rene Flores) Sporting Lisbon 0
Everton 1 (Calum Dyson) Atletico Mineiro 0

SATURDAY’S FIXTURES:

08h00 Jo’burg Secondary vs SAFA Sedibeng
08h00 Bridge FC vs Young Zebras
09h15 University of Pretoria vs K-Stars
10h30 Sporting Lisbon vs Atletico Mineiro
12h00 Club Tijuana vs Everton

  • 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