Miniero Retains Champions Crown

CLUBE Atletico Mineiro from Brazil have retained their Future Champions Gauteng crown. This followed a scintillating 2-1 victory over Uruguay’s Nacional in the 2012 final that was played at the Nike Training Centre in Soweto, South Africa. The Brazilians claimed the trophy last year and returned in 2012 to once again assert their dominance in this prestigious international Under-17 tournament that has become a key fixture on the junior football calendar. A brace from Clube Atletico Mineiro’s Ze Alberto, taking his tally to five for the competition, was enough for the Brazilians. Nacional’s goal came from the prolific Marcos Labandeira, his sixth of the tournament that left him joint top-scorer with Orlando Pirates’ Siyanda Ngcobo. Earlier in the day, the School of Excellence made sure they did not finish last in the rankings when they defeated Mohloli High School 2-0 in the 11th-place play-off. Their goals came from Moses Raphepele and Kgosi Sejosingoe in what was a comfortable win in the end. Ghana’s FC Nania took eighth-place after they defeated South African side Bidvest Wits 1-0 thanks to a Abraziz Abankwah goal. Wits end ninth, unable to build on their sixth-place finish in 2011. Qatar’s Aspire Academy finished a credible seventh with a 1-0 win over Botswana’s Young Zebras, Sultan Abdelhamid getting the goal. It was a case of déjà vu for the Young Zebras, who also finished eighth last year. Orlando Pirates FC were the top performing South African side as they ended in fifth place and qualified for the 2012 Future Champions Belo Horizonte in Brazil following an entertaining 4-2 win over New England Revolution from the USA. Ngcobo moved to the top of the tournament’s scorer charts when he netted his sixth of the competition, to go with strikes from Tshepo Liphoko, Nhlakanipho Ntuli and Sizwe Twala for the Buccaneers. K-Stars of Zambia went one better than their fourth-place finish in 2011 when they took third this time round, beating Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven 1-0 in a tense play-off. Austin Muwowo got the only goal of the game. The Future Champions Gauteng tournament that saw 84 goals scored in 30 games, some 11 more than last year. The Future Champions Gauteng tournament, organised by Global Sports International on behalf of the Gauteng Provincial Government, has grown into one of the top Under-17 competitions on the global football calendar and is now in its fourth year. Boca Juniors from Argentina were crowned champions in 2009, with Chinese side Shandong Luneng victors in 2010. Clube Atletico Mineiro was the first Brazilian winners when they triumphed last year.

  • 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