Best Gauteng teams gather for 2015 Future Champions Gauteng Cup

The best football teams in the Province will gather for the 2015 Future Champions Gauteng Cup to be played at the Isak Steyl Stadium at the Vaal University of Technology on Sunday, March 1 with a significant carrot being dangled for the eventual semi-finalists.

The 16 teams, drawn from schools, professional clubs and academies, will hope to be in the final four and qualify for the prestigious Future Champions Gauteng International tournament to be played next month and featuring some of the best Under-17 sides in the world.

The Gauteng MEC for Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Ms Molebatsi Bopape, says the Future Champions programme has done much in recent years to raise the standard of junior football in the Province.

“We enjoyed the Future Champions Gauteng Schools Cup earlier this month and now we have the opportunity to see what the Province as a whole can produce in the way of young talent. The Gauteng Cup will be an important stepping-stone for these youngsters in giving them the opportunity to challenge their peers and develop as footballers,” Ms Bopape says.

“It is crucial that we have such platforms to allow us to give these young players, many from disadvantaged backgrounds, the opportunity to display their talent and improve not only their lives, but the lives of those around them.”

Johannesburg Secondary School, Rosina Sedibane Modiba Sport School, Lawley Secondary and the Sports School of Excellence have all booked their place in the Gauteng Cup and are now one step away from representing South Africa at the International event that will be played in Soweto from March 23-28.

They will be joined on Sunday by the Under-17 sides of professional teams Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates FC, Mamelodi Sundowns, Bidvest Wits, Jomo Cosmos, Moroka Swallows, University of Pretoria, Mpumalanga Black Aces and the SuperSport Tottenham Hotspur Academy.

The final three competing teams are academies in the province, namely Shumba FC, Sandton-based FTF FC and Midas FC from the University of Johannesburg.

Shumba FC is an exciting project that brings in youngsters from areas such as Olivenhoudt, Sandton, Diepsloot, Tembisa, Bryanston, Cosmo City, Soshanguve and Alexandra, and uses football as a tool to mentor and nurture players.

“We are delighted to have such a strong field for this year and the addition of the academy teams is a welcome one. Every year the quality of the entrants in the Gauteng Cup gets better and that means we can look forward to another high-level, exciting Gauteng Cup competition,” says Ray Whelan, Tournament Director of the Future Champions Gauteng project.

The 16 teams are split into four pools each containing four sides, with the top team in each pool advancing to the semi-finals and winning a place in the Future Champions Gauteng International tournament.

Last year defending champions SuperSport Tottenham Hotspur Academy were crowned 2014 Gauteng Cup champions after they defeated Tshwane rivals Mamelodi Sundowns 1-0 in the final. They will be going for their hat-trick of titles in 2015.

Fixture

Group A Group B
1 Lawley Secondary 1 Rosina Sedibane Sports School
2 Moroka Swallows F.C. 2 Bidvest Wits F.C.
3 Black Aces F.C. 3 Shumba Football Development
4 TUKS 4 Orlando Pirates F.C.
Group C Group D
1 Johannesburg Secondary School 1 School of Excellence
2 FTF Academy 2 Kaizer Chiefs F.C.
3 Jomo Cosmos F.C. 3 Mamelodi Sundowns F.C.
4 Midas Football Academy 4 Supersports United F.C.
Fixture
Registration 07h00
1 Lawley Secondary vs. Moroka Swallows F.C. Field 1 08h30
2 Black Aces F.C. vs. TUKS Field 2 08h30
3 Rosina Sedibane Sports School vs. Bidvest Wits F.C. Field 3 08h30
4 Shumba Football Development vs. Orlando Pirates F.C. Field 4 08h30
5 Johannesburg Secondary School vs. FTF Academy Field 1 09h30
6 Jomo Cosmos F.C. vs. Midas Football Academy Field 2 09h30
7 School of Excellence vs. Kaizer Chiefs F.C. Field 3 09h30
8 Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. vs. Supersports United F.C. Field 4 09h30
9 Lawley Secondary vs. TUKS Field 1 10h30
10 Black Aces F.C. vs. Moroka Swallows F.C. Field 2 10h30
11 Rosina Sedibane Sports School vs. Orlando Pirates F.C. Field 3 10h30
12 Shumba Football Development vs. Bidvest Wits F.C. Field 4 10h30
13 Johannesburg Secondary School vs. Midas Football Academy Field 1 11h30
14 Jomo Cosmos F.C. vs. FTF Academy Field 2 11h30
15 School of Excellence vs. Supersports United F.C. Field 3 11h30
16 Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. vs. Kaizer Chiefs F.C. Field 4 11h30
17 Moroka Swallows F.C. vs. TUKS Field 1 12h30
18 Black Aces F.C. vs. Lawley Secondary Field 2 12h30
19 Bidvest Wits F.C. vs. Orlando Pirates F.C. Field 3 12h30
20 Shumba Football Development vs. Rosina Sedibane Sports School Field 4 12h30
21 FTF Academy vs. Midas Football Academy Field 1 13h30
22 Jomo Cosmos F.C. vs. Johannesburg Secondary School Field 2 13h30
23 Kaizer Chiefs F.C. vs. Supersports United F.C. Field 3 13h30
24 Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. vs. School of Excellence Field 4 13h30
SEMI Final
Winner A Winner B 15h00
Winner C Winner D 15h00
Final
Winner A / B Winner C / D 16h30

  • 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