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West Rand Ballers FA a force to be reckoned with

The West Rand Ballers Football Academy has big plans for the future and are they already showing signs of becoming a major force in the sport.

West Rand Ballers Football Academy, which is less than five years old, has seen amazing growth over the years.

With the academy having experienced an increase in recruitment and a more developed infrastructure in recent times, they are now a force to be reckoned with.

This is evident after one of their most talented players, Sphiwe Mabaso, was selected to go for trials at Clube Desportivo Nacional, a Portuguese football club based in Funchal on the island of Madeira. The club competes in the second division of the Portuguese Football Federation system. Sphiwe plays wing for the U18 team at the West Rand Ballers Football Academy and was among the boys who were shining for their club at the Euro Soccer Schools tournament held in Bloemfontein earlier this year. That is when he was recognised by the Euro School scouts and given the call to take their sports talent to the next level.

West Rand Ballers head coach Junior Mwale. Photo: Artsinqsports

With this in mind, head coach and founder of the club, Junior Mwale, said this was the perfect opportunity to grow the academy which he hopes will in turn produce more talent.

“There is a lot of tactical and technical work done at the training sessions at the academy, especially from U13, U15, U17 and U19 age groups. We pride ourselves in playing attractive football and a lot of planning is put into the sessions. We have a philosophy which must be implemented in all the age groups,” Junior said.

For a football academy to thrive and produce players with great potential, it takes a lot of data and analytics to determine whether a player is good enough to reach an elite level of playing football. So far, the academy has seen one player turn professional in the past year and go on to play in the ABC Motsepe League commonly known as the South African Football Association Second Division.

Tshiam Moleyane is among the goalkeepers for the senior team. Photo: Artsinqsports

The ABC Motsepe League features 144 teams in total, divided into nine divisions or rather the top 16 teams from the province. The winner of each provincial division qualifies for the annual promotional playoffs, where the winners are promoted to the National First Division. In each province, the two lowest-ranked teams by the end of the season, are relegated to the fourth tier U21 SAB Regional League, which in return will promote two playoff winners from the regional championships.

West Rand Ballers primarily competes in the Rand Central Local Football Association League but they are ready to take a bigger step.

“The U13s in particular have been brilliant in the league so far. We were under financial strain that curtailed our season and we had to, for example, forfeit five games. We have since overcome this obstacle. Other teams performing well are the U15s, U17s and U19s. The aim now is to compete in the Gauteng Development League because we know that we can compete against the best in South Africa,” Junior added confidently.

Bandile Gazide in action. Photo: Artsinqsports

West Rand Ballers have over the years experienced massive success having won 37 trophies not to mention competing and winning various provincial and regional tournaments.

”We have won quite a few trophies in the past few years across different age groups. We are the current holders of the U13 Camp Discovery Schools tournament and we hope to bag more trophies as we progress. The academy not only hopes to improve in terms of scouting talent but also make West Rand Ballers the go-to academy on the West Rand.

Tengisa Ringane shows some of his skills. Photo: Artsinqsports

“From next year we will have accommodation dedicated to the club and offer schooling as well as a diet and nutrition programme to keep them in shape. We aim to become a proper academy where players will get to train three times a day and develop as they do in England.”

On top of that, the team hopes to improve its backroom staff by hiring more coaches who will assist players in developing.

”We have six members in our coaching staff and we still need more because our teams will grow.”

Zethe Dlamini is in action for West Rand Ballers FA. Photo: Artsinqsports.

Junior also believes that it takes more than just good tactics and a game plan to get a team in shape and be competitive. He believes that players should be allowed to have a voice on and off the field.

“I believe in freedom of expression. I allow my players to be expressive on the field of play while applying our principles and our style of play. Any player interested in playing for West Rand Ballers Academy must be willing to learn and conform to our way of playing. We are a family. I allow players to make mistakes because that’s the only way they will learn and become the best they can be,” Junior concluded.

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