The 2012 Future Players talent search winners head for Manchester

Johannesburg, Friday, 5 April 2013 – The winners of the 2012 Future Champions Talent Search will begin their dream trip to the United Kingdom on Friday, 5th April 2013.

Last year’s overall winners Tshepo Linda and Thulisile Ntuli will be making the trip along with Lucas Makena from the Gauteng Department of Education and last year’s victorious coach, Keneilwe Mathibela.

The winners are about to embark on a week-long trip of a lifetime as part of their prize.
The youngsters arrive in Manchester, England on Friday and will take in a youth team match between Everton and Norwich City.

They will then watch the Championship game between Bolton Wanderers and Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

They will take in some Premiership action when they watch West Ham United’s trip to Anfield to play Liverpool on Sunday.

An exciting itinerary has been put together for the Mzansi youngsters, including a tour of Manchester United’s Old Trafford grounds and the club museum on Monday.

A day later they will visit SoccerEx and the renowned Football Museum, before watching another academy game at Everton.

The final day of their tour on Wednesday will see the trio visit the Manchester City Academy before they return to South Africa the following day.

  • 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