Day 01 of the 2014 Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament

Johannesburg, Monday, 24th March 2014 –The 2014 Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament got off to an action-packed start today, Monday 24th March 2014, with seven matches of the highest quality and an appearance by the English Premiership trophy at the Football Training Centre in Pimville, Soweto.

Brazilian side Clube Atletico Mineiro, winners in 2011 and 2012, got their campaign off to a thrilling start with the biggest victory of the day when they defeated local side Supersport Tottenham Hotspur Academy 5-2, while defending champions Club Tijuana were 2-1 winners over schools side Sunward Park.

But one of the highlights of the first day was a glittering opening ceremony that including the parading of the English Premiership trophy, one of the great prizes in world football, and a colourful display from all teams.

South African football legends Mark Fish and Lucas Radebe, both stalwarts of the national team and players who featured in the English Premiership, wowed the fans as they showcased the trophy for the rapturous crowd.

There was also plenty of support from the stands as local schools turned out in support of their teams as part of the ‘Adopt A Team’ campaign, with Clube Atletico Mineiro’s nominated place of learning, Lulama Primary School, in particular good voice as they cheered their side on to victory.

The action got under way with a win for Congolese academy side CESD La Djiri in their Group A clash against Jomo Cosmos from South Africa, with Lionel Ondongo Opera scoring the only goal of the game.

The other match in Group A between 2010 winners Shandong Luneng from China and Canada’s Toronto FC finished 1-1. Li Liu netted for the Aisan team while Kevin Timachy was on target for the North Americans.

Atletico Mineiro were quick out of the blocks as they put five past SuperSport Tottenham Hotspur Academy, with Adson, Cesar, Keven, Flavino and Joao Victor on target for the Brazilians. The young Supersport players did not go down without a fight though and netted through Mthokozisi Mngadi and Thabelo Mulaudzi.

The other Group B fixture saw K-Stars of Zambia draw 1-1 with Dutch visitors ADO Den Haag as the excitingPatson Daka netted for the African team. Dennis van der Heijden was on target for the Netherlands club.

Club Tijuana made a positive start to the defense of their title with a 2-1 victory over Sunward Park, the only schools team in this year’s competition. Juan Rodriguez and Brandon Vazquez netted for the Mexicans, with Levy Berry scoring for Sunward Park.

The other game in Group C was awarded 3-0 to Qatar side Aspire Academy as a forfeit after travels delays meant that Nigerian team Saki West did not arrive in time to fulfill their fixture.

Royal Wahingdoh from India played to a 1-1 draw with American side USYSA Select, with Sushil Ahongshangbam scoring for the former and Connor DeFilippis netting for the latter.

The final game of the day saw Lovers Malatsi net twice as South African side Mamelodi Sundowns beat English Premiership Sunderland AFC 2-1 in one of the most thrilling fixtures of the day. Daniel Pybus had put the young Black Cats ahead with a penalty before Sundowns roared back for the win.

The Future Champions Gauteng International Tournament, now in its sixth edition, sees 16 teams from across the globe compete for the opportunity to be crowned champions.

MONDAY’S RESULTS
Jomo Cosmos 0CESD La Djiri 1(Lionel Ondongo Opera)
K-Stars 1(Patson Daka)ADO Den Haag 1(Dennis van der Heijden)
Shandong Luneng 1(Li Liu)Toronto FC 1 (Kevin Timachy)
Atletico Mineiro 5(Adson, Cesar, Keven, Flavino, Joao Victor)SuperSport Tottenham Hotspur Academy 2(Mthokozisi Mngadi, Thabelo Mulaudzi)
Club Tijuana 2(Juan Rodriguez, Brandon Vazquez)Sunward Park 1(Levy Berry)
Aspire Academy 3Saki West 0– walkover
Royal Wahingdoh 1(Sushil Ahongshangbam)USYSA 1(Connor DeFilippis)
Mamelodi Sundowns 2(Lovers Malatsi 2)Sunderland 1(Daniel Pybus)

STANDINGS

GROUP A P W D L GF GA PTS
CESD La Djiri(Congo) 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
Shandong Luneng (China) 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Toronto FC (Canada) 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Jomo Cosmos (SA) 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
GROUP B P W D L GF GA PTS
Atletico Mineiro (Brazil) 1 1 0 0 5 2 3
K-Stars (Zambia) 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
ADO Den Haag (Holland) 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Supersport TH Academy (SA) 1 0 0 1 2 5 0
GROUP C P W D L GF GA PTS
Aspire Academy (Qatar) 1 1 0 0 3 0 3
Club Tijuana (Mexico) 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Sunward Park (SA) 1 0 0 1 1 2 0
Saki West (Nigeria) 1 0 0 1 0 3 0
GROUP D P W D L GF GA PTS
Mamelodi Sundowns (SA) 1 1 0 0 2 1 3
Royal Wahingdoh (India) 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
USYSA (USA) 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
Sunderland (England) 1 0 0 1 1 2 0

TUESDAY’S FIXTURES

13h30 –Sunward Park vs Aspire Academy

13h45 –K-Stars vs SuperSport TH Academy

15h00 –Sunderland vs Royal Wahingdoh

16h30 –ADO Den Haag vs Atletico Mineiro

17h45 –USYSA vs Mamelodi Sundowns

18h00 –Shandong Luneng vs CESO La Djiri

19h15 –Jomo Cosmos vs Toronto FC

19h30 –Saki West vs Club Tijuana

TOURNAMENT STATS
Matches played:7
Goals scored:20
Biggest victory:Atletico Mineiro 5 SuperSport United 2
Most goals in a game:7 – Atletico Mineiro 5 SuperSport United 2

GOALSCORERS

2 – Lovers Malatsi (Mamelodi Sundowns)
1 – Adson (Atletico Mineiro), Sushil Ahongshangbam (Royal Wahingdoh), Levy Berry (Sunward Park), Cesar (Atletico Mineiro), Patson Daka (K-Stars), Connor DeFilippis (USYSA), Flavino (Atletico Mineiro), Joao Victor (Atletico Mineiro), Keven (Atletico Mineiro), Li Liu (Shandong Luneng), Lionel Ondongo Opera (CESD La Djiri), Daniel Pybus (Sunderland), Juan Rodriguez (Club Tijuana), Kevin Timachy (Kevin Timachy), Dennis van der Heijden (ADO den Haag), Brandon Vazquez (Club Tijuana)

To download photos of the event, please go to – www.usfirstmedia.photoshelter.com

  • 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