The 2012 Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament Day 02

Johannesburg, Tuesday, 27 March 2012 – The second day of competition at the 2012 Future Champions Gauteng Under-17 tournament produced yet more fantastic football at the Nike Training Centre in Pimville, Soweto on Tuesday.

The eight international sides from around the world competed alongside four entrants from South Africa in a fascinating clash of styles that enthralled the spectators who had turned up in their numbers to view the action.

Ghana’s FC Nania defeated K-Stars from Zambia 1-0 in the opening game of the day thanks to a lone goal from Collins Asare. It was a battle between two clubs owned by African legends, and who fought plenty of battles themselves on the football pitch.

FC Nania are owned by former Black Stars legend Abedi Pele, who excelled in Europe with Marseille, while K-Stars is under the guidance of Zambian hero Kalusha Bwalya, who spent much of his career playing in Holland.

The Aspire Academy from Qatar triumphed over Young Zebras from Botswana by the same score-line, with Ahmed Al-Sadi getting their goal and a first win of the tournament for the Middle East team.

There were six goals shared in the exciting 3-3 draw between the USA’s New England Revolution and the School of Excellence, with the North Americans coming from behind to claim a point.

Guyllain Kabala, Mawolo Gissie and Amadu Kunateh netted for them, while Tshepo Mashigo, Moses Raphepele and Kabelo Moshane were on target for the School of Excellence.

Game of the day was arguably the thrilling 2-2 draw between Bidvest Wits and last year’s Future Champions Gauteng winners Clube Atletico Mineiro of Brazil, a match that had everything.

Atletico took the lead through Marcelo, before Thembinkosi Phiri gave the Young Clever Boys the advantage with a brace, one of those coming from the penalty-spot.

But the Brazilians were not to be undone and Yago netted his third goal in two matches, also from the penalty-spot, to secure a point for Atletico, who finished the game with 10-men following a red card.

Orlando Pirates FC were defeated 3-1 by Uruguayan side Nacional, for who Johnfer Luna, Gaston Pereiro and Marcos Labandeira scored. They also netted the fourth goal in the game, Ignacio Currais unfortunately putting into his own net to briefly draw Pirates level.

Dutch side PSV Eindhoven won the final game of the day, beating Mohloli High School 1-0 thanks to a second half goal from Clint Leemans.

Wednesday will see the final round of group games, with New England Revolution needing to beat K-Stars to have any hope of finishing top in Group A.

Mohloli High School will take on Young Zebras, while Nacional will face free-scoring School of Excellence in a tasty looking match-up.

Orlando Pirates FC will be next in the firing line for FC Nania, while Clube Atletico Mineiro and Aspire Academy will be involved in a straight shoot-out for top spot in Group C, with a draw suiting the Brazilians.

Bidvest Wits can still equal them on five points though if they get a big win over PSV Eindhoven in the final game of the day.

The winners of each pool move forward to Friday’s semi-finals, with the rest of the teams involved in play-offs to determine their final position in the tournament. The Final and last of the play-off matches will be played on Saturday.

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 were the first Brazilian winners when they triumphed last year.

TUESDAY’S RESULTS
FC Nania 1 (Collins Asare) K-Stars 0
Young Zebras 0 Aspire Academy 1 (Ahmed Al-Sadi)
New England Revolution 3 (Guyllain Kabala, Mawolo Gissie, Amadu Kunateh) School of Excellence 3 (Tshepo Mashigo, Moses Raphepele, Kabelo Moshane)
Bidvest Wits 2 (Thembinkosi Phiri 2 (1 pen)) Clube Atletico Mineiro 2 (Marcelo, Yago (pen))
Orlando Pirates FC 1 (Ignacio Currais og) Nacional 3 (Johnfer Luna, Gaston Pereiro, Marcos Labandeira)
Mohloli High School 0 PSV Eindhoven 1 (Clint Leemans)

WEDNESDAY’S FIXTURES
10h00 K-Stars vs New England Revolution
11h15Â Mohloli High School vs Young Zebras
12h30 Nacional vs School of Excellence
13h45 Orlando Pirates FC vs FC Nania
15h00 Aspire Academy vs Clube Atletico Mineiro
17h00Â PSV Eindhoven vs Bidvest Wits

STANDINGS
Click here

TOURNAMENT STATS
Matches played: 12
Goals scored: 34
Biggest victory: Clube Atletico Mineiro 4 Mohloli High School 0
Most goals in a game: 6 – New England Revolution 3 School of Excellence 3

Topscorers:
3 – Yago (Clube Atletico Mineiro)

2 – Marcos Labandeira (Nacional), Tshepo Mashigo (School of Excellence), Siyanda Ngcobo (Orlando Pirates FC), Thembinkosi Phiri (Bidvest Wits)

For further information and results, please visit:

http://facebook.com/futurechampions
http://twitter.com/FutureChampsU17

For live results of the Future Champions Gauteng international tournament on your mobile, please sms ‘Future Champions’ to 34747 to register (SMS cost R1.50)

  • 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