Poor start for Cosmos

JOMO Cosmos got their 2014 Future Champions Gauteng International Cup off to a poor start, losing 0-1 to Congo Brazzaville’s CESD La Djiri in Soweto yesterday.

Striker Lionel Ondongo Opera scored the only goal of the opening game at Nike Football Training Centre to take his side to the top of Group A.

La Djiri are making their first appearance in this annual youth tournament along with Canadian outfit Toronto FC.

In another match yesterday, K Stars of Zambia drew 1-1 with Ado den Haag from Netherlands. Patson Daka scored for the academy owned by Zambian Football Association president Kalusha Byalwa, with Dennis van der Heijden equalising for Den Haag.

Besides Cosmos, other SA clubs in the tournament are Mamelodi Sundowns, SuperSport United and Sunward High School. Foreign clubs participating are from Qatar, China, US, Nigeria and England. It was started in 2009 as part of the 2010 Fifa World Cup legacy projects.

Boca Juniors from Argentina were crowned the inaugural Future Champions Gauteng winners, with Chinese side Shandong Luneng victors in 2010.

Brazilian side Clube Atletico Mineiro claimed the title in 2011 and successfully defended it the following year. Club Tijuana from Mexico won 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