Football players head for the goal
HONEYDEW – Football Academy Plus provide aspiring professional football players with the means to be great at the sport.
Having a talent for a specific sport is no good if one does not have a place to practice and become a professional at it.
Football Academy Plus, based at the African Leadership Academy in Honeydew provides professional training to players between the ages of eight and 18. According to owner and founder, Sabastian Ribic, they have academies in Cape Town, Johannesburg and recently opened one in Pretoria. He explained that the academy is a multi-city academy and provides aspiring football players a chance to train at a place close to them.
Head coach, Claudio Lorenzani explained that the players go through many trials to eventually be picked to be part of the academy. He added that the teams range from ages eight to ten, 11 to 13, 14 to 15 and 16 to 18. The academy is open all year around for boys to try out, but Ribic explained that the players are handpicked. Since the Roodepoort club opened on 4 May the coaching team focused on four schools from where they chose the players.
A wide range of players are from Boskop Primary, Randpark Primary, The King’s School Robin Hills and the African Leadership Academy, but Ribic added that the coaching staff from schools in the area could send players to the academy if they are good enough. “Our goal is to teach football players the necessary skills to be able to go to professional clubs,” said Lorenzani.
“The players all play with a common goal, we can only give them so much resources, but they need to want to be a player here,” said Lorenzani.
Ribic said that they provide a platform for their players from the African continent to be exposed to the world of football.
Details: Football Academy Plus, 061 427 7156.
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