Local teams booted out of U-17 tourney

SOUTH African soccer clubs had a pool. run in the Gauteng Under-17 Future Champions International Cup when they were all eliminated from the tournament which is underway in Soweto. South African teams – Orlando Pirates, BidVest Wits, School of Excellence and Sharpeville’s Mohloli High School – failed to qualify for the semifinals yesterday. Defending champions Club Atletico Mineiro of Brazil, Uruguay’s Nacional, K Stars of Zambia and Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven made it to the last four. K Stars, owned by Zambian icon Kalusha Bwalya, qualified following an impressive 4-2 victory over American side New England Revolution. Nacional, on the other hand, offered a free soccer lesson to Excellence, handing them a 5-0 drubbing. Mineiro struggled before eventually beating Qatar’s . Aspire Academy 2-1, while Eindhoven defeated Wits 2-0. In other games, Pirates had to be content with second spot in the pool, despite their 3-0 win over Ghana’s FC Nania. Siyanda Ngcobo scored a brace and Bongani Khanyile struck the other goal for Pirates. Botswana walloped Mohloli 3-0, but that was not good enough to send them into the semis. Today is a rest day in this tournament sponsored by the department of sport, arts, culture and recreation. Participants will be visiting Soccer City as the venue used for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 World Cup. K Stars meet Mineiro in the first semifinal match tomorrow, while Nacional face Eindhoven in the second encounter. The tournament ends on Saturday.

  • 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