Youth league prepares U15s for higher soccer leagues
Scorpions FC and Giyani Classic FC drew their match 0-0 on Saturday in the U15 Giyani SAFA Youth Premier League development match held at Xikukwani Stadium.
With no clear leader in the league at this stage, the teams are throwing in whatever they have to ensure that they do not fall behind. The aim of the development league is to prepare young players for the bigger leagues. According to Gezani Mashaba, the head for Youth Football Development at the Greater Giyani Local Football Association (GGLFA), there is no real prize for winners at the end of the league since the main aim is to prepare players for future leagues rather than financial rewards.
“When the league ends, we crown the champions and players move on to play for U16 and other leagues depending on whether they continue with football as a career,” he said. Meanwhile, both coaches were satisfied with how the match ended. Asked how he saw the match, the Scorpion FC’s coach, Obert Mashaba said they played well but were unlucky with the goals.
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If you have watched us from the start of the match you would have seen that we had the upper hand, however, we failed to convert our chances at the posts,” he said, promising to work on their mistakes next time. The Giyani Classic FC’s coach, Lucky Masingi, on the other hand, said his young players were exceptional and did a wonderful job in holding off attacks from their opponents.
“Despite being in the same age group, most of my players are smaller in posture which in normal circumstances could have disadvantaged them, but they played well irrespective of that,” he said. Masingi said his players were trained to play against players that were taller than them. “I pit them against my U17 team in order to help them learn how to win against taller players in the league,” he said.
