The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government, eThekwini Municipality, and IEC in Sports in partnership with the South African Football Association (SAFA) will stage a world class International Under 19 Football Tournament, which is a first for South Africa.
The Tournament will see eight teams participating comprising of six international teams, one SAFA U/19 Team and one Provincial KZN team. Football trials are currently underway throughout KwaZulu-Natal to identify the very best in football talent. Players that make the final cut after an intensive training camp, will represent KZN in the Tournament. The football trials are spearheaded by well-known International Scout Paulo Cardoso who is credited with the discovery of football star Christiano Ronaldo.
Attending the final leg of the Trials at King Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi, SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan emphasized the importance of supporting this program. “As the South African Football Association, we realise that the future of South African football will only be built through hard work and focusing at laying the foundation at grassroots level. There are no short cuts to success.
“This scouting process in KwaZulu-Natal establishes a template and a benchmark for the identification of talented players within our country. It is a culmination and expression of all the hard work that has gone before. There are no easy solutions when one is in a rebuilding process. It is only through efforts such as these that we will be able to restore the pride of South African football to enable us to compete favourably on the world stage.
“In the past, players from KwaZulu-Natal used to play a critical role in the success of a competitive Senior National Team. This project will assist us in repairing the broken pipeline from KZN that is supposed to feed our Team,” concluded Jordaan.
The Football trials have identified outstanding talented players throughout KwaZulu-Natal. The ten districts visited thus far, Umkhanyakude (Hluluwe); Zululand (Ulundi); Amajuba (Newcastle); Umzinyathi (Dundee); Uthukela (Ladysmith), Umgungundlovu (Pietermaritzburg), Harry Gwala (Umzimkhulu), Ugu (Margate), Uthungulu (Richards Bay) and Ilembe (Stanger) have yielded 72 players to proceed to the elimination training camp to be held in Durban.
Speaking at the briefing, Chief Scout, Paulo Cardoso said, “Since we started the scouting process on the 09th January, we have been selecting two sets of players. The first group of players will be given a unique opportunity to demonstrate their football prowess on an international platform, by participating in the Durban U19 International Football Tournament. This will give players valuable experience in playing against Teams from various Confederations, like, Europe and South America, an important ingredient in the development of an international player. The majority of players who will participate in this Tournament are on the verge of breaking into the ranks of professional football and require such a competition to propel them onto the international stage, as scouts from other countries will be in attendance.
“The second group is that of young, talented players that will be selected to join the Hoy Park Sports Development Academy. They will be groomed and developed to play for our Junior National Teams and ultimately, Bafana Bafana. This Province is full of rough diamonds that need to be found and polished to realise their full potential. It is therefore critical for us to go around the Province with the view of identifying these talented players and give them two chances, depending on their ages,” stated Cardoso.
EThekwini Mayor, Cllr James Nxumalo, said that the tournament will go a long way towards the development of football in the country. “The fact that the scouting team has covered the length and breadth of KZN means that a lot of hidden talent has been discovered. We have no doubt that this process will uncover boys who will be tomorrow’s football stars and put our South African football on the international map,” said Nxumalo.
The scouting technical team is currently in Umlazi for a period of 2 days (15th and 16th of February 2014). A coaching workshop took place this morning and will be followed by trials to be held here at the King Zwelithini Stadium. After all the Districts have been visited, the Tournaments and matches viewed, approximately 140 players will be selected to attend a two-week intensive training camp in April/May. At the conclusion of the session, a final squad consisting of 25 players will be selected to participate in the Durban International Football Tournament.
The details of the remaining trials are as follows:
- 17 February 2014 Umkomaas Umnini Sport Centre
- 18 February 2014 KwaXimba Chief Manzolwandle Stadium
- 19 February 2014 Chatsworth 1016 Football Field
- 20 February 2014 Claremont Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium
- 21-22 February 2014 KwaMashu Emakhehleni – F Section
- 23-25 February 2014 Durban Central George Campbell fields
