VEREENIGING. – Hundreds of youngsters breathed the chilly morning air to attend the South African Football Association (SAFA) Academies trials held at President Park on Sunday.
These trials were part of SAFA Technical Department and Technical Director. It was trials for the Gauteng Province and was held in an attempt to establish an academy for those players who are not in advanced setups. The trials were conducted by veteran talent scouts such as Thulani Mthimkulu, who was deployed by the office of the technical director from national and provincial structure to coordinate this programme with former Bafana Bafana Captain Aaron “Mbazo” Mokoena watching from the touchline.
The trials were for both boys and girls born in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Players attended from all across Gauteng as far as Johannesburg and Heidelberg to try their luck. It was a busy day on Sunday with many parents putting their busy schedules aside to bring their children for these trials.
Speaking to Sedibeng Ster Sport, Mthimkulu said: “The day’s programme was meant to search and capture that hidden talent and put them on a database so that they can be monitored time and again. Basically, the Talent Development Scheme is one of the FIFA projects that advocate for enlarging a pool of players for national teams in every country in partnership with SAFA Technical Department and Technical Director.”
Mthimkulu told Sedibeng Ster Sport that he was overwhelmed by the talent that was displayed on Sunday.
