Varsity Football gets its first Bafana Bafana call-up
JOBURG - Varsity Football has received its first Bafana Bafana call-up in the name of Thabo Mnyamane of the University of Pretoria.
Varsity Football has received its first Bafana Bafana call-up in the name of Thabo Mnyamane of the University of Pretoria.
A graduate of Varsity Football, 21-year-old Mnyamane, a midfielder of AmaTuks and 2013 Varsity Football Player of the Year, and former North West University-Mahikeng player, was called up to the national squad for upcoming friendlies against Swaziland and Nigeria, set to take place later this month.
Mari van Niekerk, senior communication and sponsorship manager at FNB, which bankrolls Varsity Football, expressed the bank’s pride at seeing the benefits of its investment in Varsity Football.
“First National Bank is one of the founding sponsors of Varsity Sports and having Thabo Mnyamane called up to the national squad is testament to why we are involved in the sponsorship of youth sport.”
“Our sponsorship is meant to develop and support the youth through sport, thereby creating a pipeline of talent to move up to the next level, which is the national and provincial squads,” she said.
Varsity Football is fast-becoming one of the most anticipated events in the local sporting calendar. Premier league football teams also view the tournament as a key platform to scout young talent that could provide the necessary depth in their squads.
Bafana Bafana coach Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba’s call-up of Mnyamane into the national squad bodes well for the bank to continue investing in sport to empower and advocate for a healthy lifestyle among the youth.
Football fans will wait with baited breath to see Mnyamane run out onto the pitch for his first Bafana Bafana cap against Swaziland and Nigeria. The midfielder is a prolific goalscorer for AmaTuks and was instrumental in the recent win by his reserve team in the MultiChoice Diski Challenge.
Mnyamane was red-carded in one of the games and then joined the reserve side in order to keep fit for his two-match suspension in the Absa Premiership and played a pivotal role in helping AmaTuks win against a Sundowns reserve side to bag a week-long trip to the Netherlands.
