SAB League National Championships get underway
JOBURG – The SAB League U21 National Championships get underway at the Nike Football Training Centre.
The South African Football Association (Safa) has launched this year’s edition of the South African Breweries (SAB) League U21 National Championships.
The tournament will be played at the Nike Football Training Centre in Pimville, Soweto from 24 to 30 July.
The SAB League is regarded as the largest grassroots football development league in the country, functional in all of Safa’s 52 regions with 30 000 players participating, and will culminate in the selection of players from various regions of the league in the provinces to meet in the national championships. The nine provincial teams will be joined by a university select side chosen from the University Sports South Africa competition.
Speaking at the launch, Safa Joburg president Anthony Reeves said the country’s football development programme was moving in the right direction in accordance with Safa’s soccer development vision 2020.
As a product of the league, SuperSport United midfield maestro Reneilwe Letsholonyane said the programme had given him wings that enabled him to fly in the Absa Premiership with Kaizer Chiefs and now as a star of the SuperSport United outfit.
“As youngsters, we all dream of one day playing the big stage of football and representing our country but I personally think one of the greatest elements of the SAB League was the introduction of the study bursaries,” he said.
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“Not all of us in the development ranks will ultimately play big time football and if there is a study opportunity embedded in the programme it makes a lot of sense. Those who do not make it in the field of play have something to fall back on.”
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