Crawford College girls soccer goes forward
SANDTON – Gauteng's best girls soccer players play for selection in an elite team.
The crème de la crème of girls soccer in Gauteng descended on Crawford College, Sandton, for a day of football brilliance on Youth Day, 16 June.
The Forwardzone Girls Football Festival saw seven U13 regional girls teams from across Gauteng compete for a chance to be selected in a side of 15 that would epitomise the greatness of girls soccer in the province.
Event organiser, Tashmika Chimhundu of the Johannesburg Primary Schools Football Associaton, said the seven teams were handpicked from 50 schools across Gauteng, after trials.
“This is our second annual event and the standard of soccer has been excellent,” she said.
“The girls have shown skill and well done to the coaches for putting in the effort to perfect the finishing touches in practice.”
She said the honour of representing one’s area and having the opportunity to go even further, in terms of pursuing a professional soccer career, boosts the confidence of a young girl.
Forwardzone project manager, Gabriella da Luz agreed that the festival was all about inspiring confidence in girls soccer players.
“At the moment there is not much focus on girls soccer in South Africa so we are encouraging the girls to keep going, to believe that there are opportunities out there,” she said.
Because the event was a festival and not a tournament, there was no winning team.
But all through proceedings, scouts watched from the sidelines trying to identify the best of the best.
When the final whistle was blown and the names of the top 15 players were read out, smiles abounded on the faces of the youngsters.
They will play a match against the JVW (Janine van Wyk) Football Club on a date that is to be confirmed.
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