South Africa to thrill Nania

FC Nania is one of the teams that will participate in the Gauteng Under-17 2012 Future Champions Tournament, that will be held at the Nike Football Training Centre from March 26 to 31.

Club representative Isaac Ashong said they are grateful to the Gauteng provincial government for inviting them to be part of this year’s Future Champions Tournament. We hope this tournament will lead to a long and fruitful relationship between young African soccer players and their peers in other parts of the world,” he said. .0

Ghanaian legend and three-time African Footballer of the Year Abedi Pele is also the coach of FC Nania. The father of Ghana’s European-based stars Andre and Jordan Ayew guided FC Nania to the 2011 Ghana FA Cup, becoming the first club from Ghana’s lower division to win the cup. They brushed aside giants Asante Kotoko in the final.

The Gauteng tournament will also feature Botswana’s Gaborone Young Zebras. Zebras are making their second appearance in this tournament after they finished eighth overall last year in the tournament that was won by Athletico Mineiro from Brazil.

Botswana Football Association’ s Sonnyboy Sethibe said they would like to take this opportunity to express their thanks to the organisers for this phenomenal initiative. FC Nania and Zebras will join New England Revolution of the United States of America and National of Uruguay in this 12-club tournament.

Athletico Mineiro will be defending their title. The other participating clubs will be announced by the organisers over the next two weeks.

South Africa prepare to face up to the challenge of Ghana in Nike Stadium Soweto.

  • 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