Spain will face Nigeria in the final match of the 2017 Future Champions International Tournament

Defending champions Atletico Madrid from Spain will face Nigerian side NPFL All Stars in the final of the 2017 Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament at the Nike Football Training Centre on Saturday.

The pair won through their semifinal matches played on Friday as number of goals scored in the four days of competition to date surged past the 100-mark.

Atletico defeated local side BidVest Wits 5-2 to seal a second successive final appearance having led 4-0 at the break.
Eduardo Viana, Alberto Salido (two), Rodrigo Riquelme and Aitor Alvarez all found the back of the net for Atletico in a rampant performance even though Wits scored twice in the second half through Rowan Human and Ethan Andrews.

NPFL All Stars booked their place in the decider with an equally comprehensive 3-0 victory over Mamelodi Sundowns from South Africa in a match where both sides were reduced to 10 players.

Nazifi Yahaya (two) and Sadig Abdullahi were on target for the Nigerians, who are now aiming at becoming the first side from the African continent to lift the prestigious title.

The final will kick-off at 13h00, with entrance to the entire deciding day FREE for members of the public.

Wits and Sundowns will now meet for the bronze medal on Saturday in what should be a tasty all-South African clash that starts at 11h30.

Orlando Pirates won their play-off match against Russian side Spartak Moscow 4-2 on penalties after the teams played to an entertaining 0-0 draw.
Spartak missed two spot-kicks in the shoot-out and will now take on local side SAFA Tshwane for seventh place in their final game of the competition.

SAFA Tshwane were well beaten 3-0 by Club Tijuana as Samuel Lopez, Johan Cabreras and Jesus Vega found the back of the net.
It means the Mexicans will take on Pirates for fifth place on Saturday at 11h15.

University of Pretoria defeated the Football School of India 11-0 in their clash, with Valli Baloyi grabbing five goals and Sibusiso Nkosi four. Kandrin Naidoo and Ifeanichukwu Okolo were also on target for the South Africans.

They will face Italian side Torino in the play-off for ninth-place (kick-off 08h30) after the 2015 Future Champions Gauteng edged Belgian side Club Brugge 2-1.

Davide Munari and Nicola Rauti, with his second of the tournament, were on target for the Italians, while Lars Dendoncker scored what turned out to be a consolation for the Belgians.

Clube Brugge meet the Football School of India for the wooden spoon at 08h15 on Saturday.

Boca Juniors from Argentina were crowned inaugural Future Champions Gauteng winners 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 in 2012 and 2014, with Club Tijuana victors the year in between.

Torino claimed the trophy in a narrow penalty-shout success over South African side SuperSport United in 2015, while Atletico Madrid are the current defending champions.

Organised by Global Sports International, in partnership with the Gauteng Provincial Government, the tournament features five local sides and seven top teams from around the world.

This year’s Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament will also be supported by the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, the Premier Soccer League, Love Life, Levati, Nike, MotorDeal, Clinix Health, Debonairs Pizza, Haagen-Dazs, Spain’s LaLiga and SCORE Energy drinks.

FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Spartak Moscow 0 Orlando Pirates 0 – Pirates won 4-2 on pens

SAFA Tshwane 0 Club Tijuana 3 (Samuel Lopez, Johan Cabreras, Jesus Vega)

Football School of India 0 University of Pretoria 11 (Kandrin Naidoo, Sibusiso Nkosi 4, Ifeanichukwu Okolo, Valli Baloyi 5)

NPFL All Stars 3 (Nazifi Yahaya 2, Sadig Abdullahi) Mamelodi Sundowns 0

Torino 2 (Davide Munari, Nicola Rauti) Club Brugge 1 (Lars Dendoncker)

BidVest Wits 2 (Rowan Human, Ethan Andrews) Atletico Madrid 5 (Eduardo Viana, Alberto Salido 2, Rodrigo Riquelme, Aitor Alvarez)

STANDINGS

GROUP A P W D L GF GA GD PTS
NPSL All Stars (Nigeria) 3 2 1 0 15 1 +14 7

SAFA Tshwane (SA) 3 0 2 1 2 5 -3 2

Torino (Italy) 3 0 1 2 2 6 -4 1

GROUP B P W D L GF GA GD PTS

BidVest Wits (SA) 3 3 0 0 25 3 +22 9

Spartak Moscow (Russia) 3 2 0 1 20 3 +17 6

Football School of India 3 0 0 3 0 46 -46 0

GROUP C P W D L GF GA GD PTS

Mamelodi Sundowns (SA) 3 2 1 0 2 0 +2 7

Club Tijuana (Mexico) 3 2 0 1 5 2 +3 6

Club Brugge (Belgium) 3 1 0 2 3 4 -1 3
GROUP D P W D L GF GA GD PTS
Atletico Madrid (Spain) 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 7

Orlando Pirates (SA) 3 1 0 2 6 4 +2 3

Univ. of Pretoria (SA) 3 0 0 3 0 11 -11 0


SATURDAY’S FIXTURES

08h15 – Football School of India vs Club Brugge

08h30 – University of Pretoria vs Torino

09h45 – Spartak Moscow vs SAFA Tshwane

11h15 – Orlando Pirates vs Club Tijuana

11h30 – Mamelodi Sundowns vs BidVest Wits

13h00 – Atletico Madrid vs NPFL All Stars

TOURNAMENT STATS
Matches played: 24
Goals scored: 113
Biggest victory: Football School of India 0 BidVest Wits 20
Most goals in a game: 20 – Football School of India 0 BidVest Wits 20

GOALSCORERS

9 goals – Danila Proshliakov (Spartak Moscow)

7 – Malik Mashinini (BidVest Wits)

6 – Nazifi Yahaya (NPFL All Stars)

5 – Ethan Andrews (BidVest Wits), Toluwalase Arokodare (NPFL All Stars), Valli Baloyi (University of Pretoria)

4 – Leo Mert (BidVest Wits), Sibusiso Nkosi (University of Pretoria)

3 – Lyle Foster (Orlando Pirates), Rowan Human (BidVest Wits), Alberto Salido (Atletico Madrid)

2 – Simo Bophela (Orlando Pirates), Johan Cabreras (Club Tijuana), Mikhail Ignitov (Spartak Moscow), Dali Lawal (NPSL All Stars), Dmitri Markitesov (Spartak Moscow), Fani Mofokeng (BidVest Wits), Kabelo Makola (BidVest Wits), Simon Paulet (Club Brugge), Nicola Rauti (Torino), Jesus Vega (Club Tijuana)

1 – Sadig Abdullahi (NPFL All Stars), Mahmood Aliyu (NPFL All Stars), Aitor Alvarez (Atletico Madrid), Toluwalase Arokodare (NPFL All Stars), Lars Dendoncker (Club Brugge), Adriana Ferreras (Atletico Madrid), Kirili Folmer (Spartak Moscow), Nicolas Garcia-Morillo (Atletico Madrid), Nicolas Gudino (Atletico Madrid), Egor Ilin (Spartak Moscow), Tari Joseph (NPFL All Stars), Quinson Kapowezha (BidVest Wits), Solly Khunyedi (BidVest Wits), Samuel Lopez (Club Tijuana), Phakamani Magavu (BidVest Wits), Katlego Mampa (SAFA Tshwane), Ofentse Mashiane (SAFA Tshwane), Bonisile Mbangwa (Orlando Pirates), U Ming (Atletico Madrid), Dmitri Mitroga (Spartak Moscow), Turgay Mokhbaliev (Spartak Moscow), Davide Munari (Torino), Kandrin Naidoo (University of Pretoria), Jorge Navarro (Club Tijuana), Likhanyile Ndlendle (Mamelodi Sundowns), Siphamandla Ntuli (Mamelodi Sundowns), Ifeanichukwu Okolo (University of Pretoria), Chisom Onije (NPFL All Stars), Carlos Ramirez (Club Tijuana), Rodrigo Riquelme (Atletico Madrid), Igor Rojo (Ateltico Madrid), Ruslan Rustamov (Spartak Moscow), Visar Shala (Club Brugge), Abba Suleiman (NPFL All Stars), Eduardo Viana (Atletico Madrid), Kevin Zavala (Club Tijuana)

Own Goals – Ayaan Jasserl (Football School of India), Keenan Phillips (BidVest Wits)

  • 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