The inaugural U15 Boys and Girls Nelson Mandela Youth Challenge kicks off today‚ with the finals due to be played on Mandela Day on Saturday.
The South African Football Association (SAFA) said in a statement the tournament‚ with teams drafted from all nine provinces‚ was being funded by the 2010 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust.
The tournament will be used as part of the U17 Development Phase.
“This is a clear sign of putting to action what we have been talking about when we refer to Vision 2022. To be among the best in the world‚ we need to invest more at grassroots and that is exactly what we are doing‚” SAFA president Danny Jordaan said in a statement.
“This is a step in the right direction for the development of football in our country. For far too long we have all complained about the lack of development‚ but what we don’t realise is that nothing will happen if stand by and watch‚ we have to get our hands dirty and make it happen. It might take a long time but the results will come‚” new SAFA Technical Director Neil Tovey said.
“One of the first mandates I have as the Technical Director is to get you the U15s and all those younger players — regular and structured football. We need to put more focus at the bottom so that the top – Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana — can be strong. The top footballing nations around the world use the same strategy. If you look at Spain‚ England‚ Germany they all have strong youth teams who play regular football and that helps in producing quality national team players.”
The tournament is an extension of the Annual Mandela Challenge‚ played by Bafana Bafana against visiting countries‚ but is now expanded to the Under 13 and 15 boys and girls.
The Nelson Mandela Youth Challenge will kick off today at the Nike Football Training Centre in Pimville‚ Soweto.
In Group A of the boys section Western Cape was drawn against Mpumalanga and Northern Cape. In Group B hosts Gauteng will go toe to toe with Free State and Eastern Cape‚ while KwaZulu Natal‚ North West and Limpopo will battle it out in Group C.
For the girls section‚ Group A has Mpumalanga‚ Limpopo and North West‚ in Group B there is Free State‚ Northern Cape and hosts Gauteng while Eastern Cape‚ Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal were drawn in Group C.
The opening match in the boys’ category will see Western Cape lock horns with Mpumalanga at 10h30‚ while Mpumalanga and Limpopo will kick-start the proceedings on the girls’ side.
The semi-finals as well as the third place play-off will take place on Friday‚ 17 July at Nike Centre.
The finals of both sections are scheduled for Saturday‚ 18 July at the Dobsonville Stadium – with the girls scheduled to kickoff at 09h00‚ and the boys to follow an hour later.
The matches will be played as a curtain raiser to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games qualifier between Banyana Banyana and Kenya‚ which will start at 15h00.
SAFA hopes to spot young soccer talent with Mandela Challenge
The South African Football Association (SAFA) said in a statement the tournament‚ with teams drafted from all nine provinces‚ was being funded by the 2010 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust.
The tournament will be used as part of the U17 Development Phase.
“This is a clear sign of putting to action what we have been talking about when we refer to Vision 2022. To be among the best in the world‚ we need to invest more at grassroots and that is exactly what we are doing‚” SAFA president Danny Jordaan said in a statement.
“This is a step in the right direction for the development of football in our country. For far too long we have all complained about the lack of development‚ but what we don’t realise is that nothing will happen if stand by and watch‚ we have to get our hands dirty and make it happen. It might take a long time but the results will come‚” new SAFA Technical Director Neil Tovey said.
“One of the first mandates I have as the Technical Director is to get you the U15s and all those younger players — regular and structured football. We need to put more focus at the bottom so that the top – Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana — can be strong. The top footballing nations around the world use the same strategy. If you look at Spain‚ England‚ Germany they all have strong youth teams who play regular football and that helps in producing quality national team players.”
The tournament is an extension of the Annual Mandela Challenge‚ played by Bafana Bafana against visiting countries‚ but is now expanded to the Under 13 and 15 boys and girls.
The Nelson Mandela Youth Challenge will kick off today at the Nike Football Training Centre in Pimville‚ Soweto.
In Group A of the boys section Western Cape was drawn against Mpumalanga and Northern Cape. In Group B hosts Gauteng will go toe to toe with Free State and Eastern Cape‚ while KwaZulu Natal‚ North West and Limpopo will battle it out in Group C.
For the girls section‚ Group A has Mpumalanga‚ Limpopo and North West‚ in Group B there is Free State‚ Northern Cape and hosts Gauteng while Eastern Cape‚ Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal were drawn in Group C.
The opening match in the boys’ category will see Western Cape lock horns with Mpumalanga at 10h30‚ while Mpumalanga and Limpopo will kick-start the proceedings on the girls’ side.
The semi-finals as well as the third place play-off will take place on Friday‚ 17 July at Nike Centre.
The finals of both sections are scheduled for Saturday‚ 18 July at the Dobsonville Stadium – with the girls scheduled to kickoff at 09h00‚ and the boys to follow an hour later.
The matches will be played as a curtain raiser to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games qualifier between Banyana Banyana and Kenya‚ which will start at 15h00.
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