The Supersport United, AmaTuks, SAFA Sedibeng and Johannesburg Secondary top the 2013 Future Champions Gauteng Cup

Johannesburg, Saturday, 9 March 2013 – The opening day of the 2013 Future Champions Gauteng Cup produced thrilling action at the Wits University campus with no shortage of goals and some excellent football played.

University of Pretoria, SuperSport United, Johannesburg Secondary and SAFA Sedibeng booked their places at the prestigious international 2013 Future Champions Gauteng by reaching the semi-finals of the Gauteng Cup, where they will join some of the best Under-17 sides from around the world later this month.

2013 Future Champions Gauteng Cup, organized in conjunction with SAFA Gauteng, has seen 16 sides compete to be crowned champions of the province.

There were eight sides from the professional ranks of South African football, four regional teams nominated by SAFA in the province and four sides who had won their place in the competition through the Future Champions Schools Cup played a fortnight ago.
The teams were split into four streams, with the matches played in a straight knockout format.

Stream A involved the teams from the SAFA regions as SAFA Tshwane defeated SAFA West Rand 2-1, Boy Madisha and Thabo Xulu getting the goals for them. Lindokhuhle Zulu scored a consolation for the boys from the West Rand.

The other match in the stream saw SAFA Sedibeng edge SAFA Ekurhuleni 1-0, Mandla Woodridge with the goal.

Stream B contained the teams that had qualified through the 2013 Schools Cup. Johannesburg Secondary continued their fine form with a 3-2 win over the Sports School of Excellence. Sizwe Twala scored a brace for them and Lebogang Matakanye for the third. Thulani Sibisi and Tshepo Mashigo netted for the School of Excellence.

Mosupatsela High then demolished Residensia High 5-1. Thabile Kombe (two), Manelisi Tshabalala, Phakamane Nkabane and Tiisetso Seanyane completed the rout for Mosupatsela. Godfrey Mamatela netted a consolation for Residensia.

In Stream C were four teams from the professional PSL clubs in Gauteng. Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns played to a 1-1 draw after Mpho Khumalo netted for Amakhosi and Tebogo Reed for the Brazilians. The match went to a penalty shoot-out and Chiefs won 4-3.

Bidvest Wits were far too strong for Moroka Swallows as they won 5-0, Sandile Motladile getting a hat-trick to go with goals from Chuma Lali and Mercy Makhubo.

In Stream D, SuperSport United defeated Jomo Cosmos 4-0 with a brace each for Marcel Luck and Zama Rambuwane, while University of Pretoria got the result of the day with a 7-1 beating of FC AK. Jerome Bitumba (two), Tiago de Serra, Asande Mbanjwa, Dikgang Ngcobo, Keamogetswe Legwai and Thungoletho Ndlovu scored for AmaTuks.

After the first round of action the teams headed into the four quarter-finals in the late afternoon.

SAFA Sedibeng were the first team to seal their place in the semi-finals and ultimately the 2013 Future Champions Gauteng competition as they beat Mosupatsela High 3-2 in a thrilling match-up. Nhlanhla Tsoagong, Nkosinathi Zondi and Miguel Coetzee scored for SAFA Sedibeng, while Thabo Montsho and Manelisi Tshabalala netted for Mosupatsela High.

Johannesburg Secondary sealed their place in the international event with a comfortable 2-0 win over SAFA Tshwane. Siyanda Ngubo and Sizwe Twala got the goals for them.
University of Pretoria booked their place in the Last 4 with a 2-0 win over Bidvest Wits as Jerome Bitumba scored a brace.

And the final quarter-final was a real thriller as SuperSport United came from 2-0 down to beat Kaizer Chiefs 3-2, scoring a trio of goals inside 10 minutes to stun the Amakhosi.
The semi-finals will be played on Sunday as Johannesburg Secondary take on University of Pretoria and SuperSport United play SAFA Sedibeng. But for those four sides, the major prize of qualifying for the 2013 Future Champions Gauteng competition has already been won.

2013 FUTURE CHAMPIONS GAUTENG CUP RESULTS

STREAM A
SAFA Tshwane 2 (Boy Madisha, Thabo Xulu) SAFA West Rand 1 (Lindokhuhle Zulu)
SAFA Ekurhuleni 0 SAFA Sedibeng 1 (Mandla Woodridge)
STREAM B
Johannesburg Secondary 3 (Sizwe Twala 2, Lebogang Matakanye) School of Excellence 2 (Thulani Sibisi, Tshepo Mashigo)
Mosupatsela High 5 (Thabile Kombe 2, Manelisi Tshabalala, Phakamane Nkabane, Tiisetso Seanyane) Residensia High 1 (Godfrey Mamatela)
STREAM C
Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Mpho Khumalo) Mamelodi Sundowns 1 (Tebogo Reed); Chiefs wins 4-3 on penalties
Bidvest Wits 5 (Sandile Motladile 3, Chuma Lali, Mercy Makhubo) Moroka Swallows 0
STREAM D
SuperSport United 4 (Marcel Luck 2, Zama Rambuwane 2) Jomo Cosmos 0
University of Pretoria 7 (Jerome Bitumba 2, Tiago De Serra, Asande Mbanjwa, Dikgang Ngcobo, Keamogetswe Legwai, Thungoletho Ndlovu) FC AK 1 (Thapelo Moletsane)
QUARTER-FINALS:
SAFA Sedibeng 3 (Nhlanhla Tsoagong, Nkosinathi Zondi, Miguel Coetzee) Mosupatsela High 2 (Thabo Montsho, Manelisi Tshabalala)
Johannesburg Secondary 2 (Siyanda Ngubo, Sizwe Twala) SAFA Tshwane 0
University of Pretoria 2 (Jerome Bitumba 2) Bidvest Wits 0
Kaizer Chiefs 2 (Yusuf Bunting, Mihali Mayambela) SuperSport United 3 (Denwin Farmer, Jaison Clifford, Thabelo Mulaudzi)
SUNDAY’S SEMI-FINAL FIXTURES:
11h00 Johannesburg Secondary vs University of Pretoria
11h00 SAFA Sedibeng vs Supersport United
13h00 Final

  • 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