Young guns to play for province

The players were selected at a U15 selection event that took place recently in Polokwane. Four players from Giyani were initially selected on April 27 in Phalaborwa for regional selections. “Vhembe and Capricorn are the powerhouses of football development, however, despite that, our boys managed to make it through to the last 15 players that will represent the province in the interprovincial tournament in Johannesburg.

It is not an easy task, hence we’re proud of what they have achieved so far,” said Gezani Mashaba, the head of Youth Football Development in GGLFA. According to him, about 675 U15 players from nine provinces in the country are expected to compete for a spot in the South Africa U15 national squad that is scheduled to play against Denmark in September later this year, a match which would determine the strength of South Africa U15 development.

Also read: Sono aims to give quality opportunities to all children

“I’m so proud of these boys and wish them good luck wherever they go. They remind me of Vicky Mkhawana who represented us in the South Africa U20 squad in Senegal recently. The boy is from Dan village in Nkowankowa and went through our development programme up to where he is today,” he added. Meanwhile, Matimba Thosi, the coach of the development team in Giyani that managed to have two of his players among the first four players from the district that made it into the provincial squad, was super excited about his players’ achievement.

“This will motivate other players in my team to work even harder knowing that there’s a possibility of one day being selected to play at another level,” he said. “What I would not want though is for them to start putting themselves under pressure in order to be like their two teammates. I want them to relax and take every step with ease so that they can focus some of their energy on their education because that’s a very important part of their lives,” he said.