West Rand Ballers promoted to Gauteng Development League

West Rand Ballers, operating from Wentworth Park, has qualified to play in the Gauteng Development League.

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According to the South African Schools Football Association’s (SASFA) official website, when the Gauteng Development League was launched in 2017, there were just nine teams. It has since grown to 80 teams, with 20 teams in each division, namely U13, U15, U17 and U19.

Head coach and founder of West Rand ballers, Junior Mwale, said teams aim to finish within the top four in the league in all age divisions and cement their status as one of the top football academies in the West Rand region. He also added that it is important to put the players in the limelight.

We are looking forward to what we can accomplish as the season progresses. The players are all hungry and ready,” he said.

Junior added that they have several players in different age groups who he believes will make a huge impact this season.

“In the U14 age group, we have Shaka Mutangwa, a super talented left back and winger who we intend to utilise in the U15 age group as well. We also have Caden de Koker, who will lead as captain for the U15s. Then, we have Tengisa Ringane, our U19 captain, who is a winger and prolific goal scorer.

“His playing style is similar to that of the Egyptian star Mohammed Salah. We also have Tumisho ‘Skobs’ Nyaku in the midfield, who is a proper dictator of the game. Lastly, regarding the U17s, we have Langa Mtongana, a creative midfielder who can also score goals.”

The club is in high spirits as Junior concluded that, despite having a challenging season, they will make the most of every opportunity this year.

We have had quite a year; we went unbeaten at home in the league but still missed out on the title, finishing a disappointing fourth, our away form was disastrous.

“We did, however, manage to win four other trophies, so that was a nice consolation to an extent,” he concluded.