U21’s ready to show their intent

THE provincial Safa U21 team has been hard at work preparing for the annual SAB U21 national championships taking place at the Nike Football Centre in Soweto from July 24 to 30. The team has played two friendly games already as management cut down the players from 25 to 18.

Yesterday they played against Mthatha Bucks at the sports field in Mthatha.

By the time the paper went to print Bucks were leading 1-0.

“We played a game against Farefield who are in the SAB League, and we won 10.

“So this game against Bucks will be played by the final squad,” said U21 coach Ongeziwe Seku.

He said the draw doesn’t look the same as last year as they were not in the group of death with defending champions.

“We are not grouped with USSA, Free State, and KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape, which have very strong sides.

“So our aim is just to reach the final and we think now that will be possible.

Seku said players picked for the team this time round are different from last year’s group, and have been showing determination from the get-go.

“Since I met these boys I have seen they are hungry and want to play,” he said.

SA Football Association, in partnership with league sponsors SAB, launched the tournament on July 19 at the SAB World of Beer in Johannesburg.

Said SAB’s corporate affairs director, Nirishi Trikamjee: “Our commitment to innovation has seen us successfully advance the development of football through the various initiatives such as the SAB League Skills Camp and higher education bursaries.”

The teams have been split into two groups. Group A has Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Northern Cape. Group B has Western Cape, North West, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and USSA. The tournament has seen many talented players going on to play in the Premier Soccer League, including Andile Jali, Themba Zwane and, most recently, Teboho Mokoena.