Young footballers talent search continues in Gauteng Province

There will be two more stops this weekend in the search to find the most talented young footballers in the Gauteng Province as learners in the Ekurhuleni South and Johannesburg North regions get their chance to shine.

Already close to 4,000 budding superstars have been assessed in the 2014/2015 Future Players Gauteng Talent Search programme and organisers are expecting to add another 2,000 to that number on what will be a busy weekend for the coaches.

The Ekurhuleni South event will take place at the Reiger Park Stadium on Saturday from 08h00, while on Sunday the assessments will be held at the Noordgesig Sports Grounds with the same starting time.

The Future Players Gauteng Talent Search has been a huge success in unearthing hidden gems in the past few years and already there is much excitement among the coaches over what they have seen since the beginning of the initiative last October.

Over the past two weekends, the event was held at Progress Primary School in Lenasia as well as the Chris Hani Nike Stadium in Orange Farm, where some 800 learners were put through their paces, among them many girls hoping to be future Banyana Banyana stars.

The 15 qualified coaches in attendance assessed the kids over a set of five skills tests – each designed to allow the youngsters to showcase a different aspect of their talent.

The Future Players initiative, run in conjunction with the Gauteng Provincial Government, is open to both boys and girls aged 12 to 16.

Aside from the football, there is also an important social responsibility aspect as all learners will be given a presentation by LoveLife, South Africa’s largest national AIDS prevention, education and behavior initiative for young people, and Grassroots Soccer.

Over the past seven years, over 10,000 learners have undergone the assessment programme, with the most notable being current Banyana Banyana star Refiloe Jane, who was discovered through the Future Players Gauteng Talent Search.

  • 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