The Eastern Cape squad that will represent the province at the SAB League U21 National Championships in Durban in two weeks’ time was selected at Zwelitsha Stadium over the weekend.
Provincial SA Football Association technical officer Douleen Whitebooi said although players from only five regions pitched up for the trials, it had helped when it came to selecting the cream of the crop.
“We had about three rounds of games so we could see players more than once before we made our final selection.
“We selected 19 players with the idea of combining these players with the other 19 players who we selected two weeks ago at the SAB League promotional play-offs in Grahamstown,” said Whitebooi.
She said all the scouts who assisted her in the selection process had been very impressed with the players who attended the trials.
“The Eastern Cape has talented soccer players and for us, the idea is to reach the finals of the national championships.
“And we believe that with the talent we’ve hand-picked, we can do it, and we are planning to go to camp next weekend.
“We are just trying to work out the logistics around it,” she said.
Whitebooi said they still had to select the technical team, as well as the coach.
“We have not selected the coaches and the team manager as yet, so hopefully by next week we would have been done with that process as well.
“But the most important thing is that the coaches we select for this team have the necessary licence to coach at this particular level.”
She told the players who did not make the selection not to give up, but to work even harder.
“This is just the beginning for them because some of them are young and they still have about two years before they are over 21 years.
“So they should continue to work hard and improve their skills and continue to work on their technical abilities because at this level, it’s not just technique, but tactical as well,” Whitbooi said.
Last year, the province had to make two replacements while taking part in the tournament at Soweto’s Nike Centre, after having fielded ineligible players.
“We’ve made sure that they bring their playing cards and IDs, and on the MySAFA website, we punch in players’ names and if they are not picked up by the system they won’t go through,” said Whitebooi...