The Highlands North Boys High School soccer team, most of whom live in Alexandra, failed to show up at the third edition of the Future Champions Gauteng Schools Cup.
Team coach Joseph Midia said they had not been informed of the dates of the tournament. “The last time I spoke to the organisers was when they told me months back that our team will be taking part in the tournament but at that time they did not have the dates in mind,” he said.
Midia said his boys had been looking forward to the tournament. “When I told them the tournament has been played already they felt I had let them down but I assured them to look forward to next year’s competition. If we are invited and given correct dates, we shall definitely attend.”
The tournament which was won by the Safa Transnet Sport School of Excellence was held at the Isak Steyl Stadium in the Vaal. It pitted the province’s 16 top school teams of U17 players and is run in conjunction with the Gauteng Department of Education and the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation. The competing teams were selected by the South African Schools Football Association.
The four semifinalists of this tournament qualified for the prestigious Future Champions Gauteng Cup later this month. At this tournament the top U17 sides from the academies of the various Premier Soccer League clubs will slug it out to qualify for the Future Champions Gauteng International tournament which involves U17 teams from around the world in late March.
