PnP U-15s: Felix’s early Christmas for youngsters
LOBAMBA – Christmas arrived early for Ezulwini Catholic Under-15 teams as they received 10 soccer boots yesterday. This was in courtesy of Mbabane Swallows lanky forward and owner of FB7 Sports Shop Felix Badenhorst, who gave 10 pairs of soccer boots to the Ezulwini boys and girls teams. This, he did as a form of encouragement to the future stars. The former national team Sihlangu and Mbombela United star donated the boots during the Pick n Pay Kick-Off Under-15 Development Programme National Championships at Somhlolo National Stadium yesterday.
Badenhorst is no stranger to the youngsters as he had been spotted in these games before they reached this stage. He said he noted that they did not have soccer boots and now has made these children’s time in football worthwhile.
“We started here too, so to be presented with soccer boots encouraged me to push hard and that
SOME REACTIONS:
“I would like to thank Felix for this boots as they will help us going forward in our career. This is the first time I own boots as I’m in Grade VII, I want to play the sport even at secondary school next year. I want to play for Sitsebe.”
“I am very happy about this boots, I would like to thank Felix and promise him that we will play to impress him. It was a great feeling playing with soccer boots for the first time. The boots came at time when I was thinking of quitting soccer due to injuries.”
“I would like to thank Felix, we needed the soccer boots so much and they will motivate us to continue playing football. My dream is to play in Europe and the national team in the future.
is why today I decided to give the youngsters this gift and I am hopeful that they will be encouraged to take the sport seriously as well as their education,” Badenhorst said.
The former Manzini Wanderers star said the youngsters had improved from when the development programme started.
“I can boldly say that the future of the national teams is bright as I have seen great talent, especially from the boys, not taking anything away from the girls as they displayed good skills. I am really happy about this programme,” he said.
Badenhorst also thanked the PnP and Eswatini Football Association (EFA) for the great initiative and prayed that it continued in the future. He further urged other elite league stars to support the youngsters as it encourages them to perform well and grow up to be like their role models.
He concluded that with the crop of the players he saw, he was hopeful that the national team Sihlangu would in the next 10-15 years qualify for the big continental tournaments. PnP sponsored the programme for three years and this is only the first edition.