Jacoba Academy wants new players to beef-up squad
SANDRINGHAM – The Jacoba Football Academy has big plans for upcoming season.
In their first season in the Ekurhuleni SAB League, Jacoba Football Academy faced a bumpy ride but the team is adamant that positive changes are imminent.
The Sandringham-based team remains in the bottom half of the table after finishing in 11th place in their 2017/18 season. The academy’s chairman, Dimitri Athanasopoulos, has admitted to a difficult start to the season but said they learned a lot in the competition.
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Athanasopoulos, who is currently touring the world scouting for new players, blamed their misfortune on a lack of quality players. He, however, said they did well to compete in their first SAB League season, adding that they gained valuable experience which will set a foundation for the next season.
“In our report and discussion of the 2017/18 season we realised the importance of an academy that produces players that understand the Jacoba way,” said Athanasopoulos.
“More than having talented players on our field, we want players who have learned our culture, so we will be doing a lot of work in the academy to produce good players to compete at a higher level.
“We aim to have a competitive academy with a competitive senior team flying our banner high and proud.”
To reach their objective of reaching a professional league (National First Division then Professional Soccer League) he said they need an academy with well-trained players with the best coaching them.
The chairman said they intend to improve in the off-season and focus on working on their errors. “We look forward to the upcoming season and a great competitive team that is ready to take our name Jacoba FC to glory.
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“The matches that we lost were the matches that allowed us to achieve our objective of maintaining our status in the SAB League. We have a learning attitude in the club, and the losses we had against good teams were moments when we learned the most.”
Details: Dimitri Athanasopoulos 072 241 5079.
