Young footballers chase London dream
The shield trials saw 25 young players giving it their all for a crack at stardom.
Twenty-five talented young soccer players vying for a spot in the Chelsea development team in England were announced in Hatfield on Friday morning.
The 25 – five each from Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Bloemfontein and Pretoria – emerged from the Shield Sbonis’iDiski that culminated in the announcement.
They were shortlisted by a team of talented coaches including former Bafana Bafana player Mark Fish and Siphiwe Mkhonza from the over 600 hopefuls who entered the months-long trial
The best three out of the 25 will travel to London in September to train with Chelsea.
Chelsea and Orlando Pirates coaches have been scouting players for months and in the next few weeks, will decide which three receive the final nod.
When the three, return one the best of the best will score a one-year contract with the Orlando Pirates FC development team.
Trial coache Mpho Letsolonyane said she was impressed with what she saw in the past two days of training.
“I’ve been impressed with the talent I’ve seen here today. Yesterday, some of the players were nervous and feeling each other out, but it’s a different story today. The players have shown more hunger and determination and every single one of them is going all out to try to be in selected.”
Chelsea development coach Laurence Griffin said he was honoured to be part of the campaign.
“SA has been the best place to finish our trip. Speaking of this campaign as a whole, I’d like to say that Chelsea is extremely proud to be partnered with Shield, who present an opportunity for young people in Africa.”
Fish said footballers needed to be developed early to uplift the standard of football.
“We had a generation in 1996 where we won the Afcon and now we need to build another generation. At the moment, we have teams, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns who have made their mark on the continent but want to make bigger marks.”
He said players needed to simplify and enjoy their game.
“We don’t play for the prize, yes we want to be victorious but give everything you can possibly and then look yourself in the mirror and say I gave it a 100%.
After today, you guys need to be real men out there for your communities, the best way to celebrate Women’s Month is becoming real men,” Fish said.
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