The
most talented young footballers from around the world will travel to
Manchester, United Kingdom to compete for the coveted Manchester United Premier
Cup 2013 championship title. The tournament will see the top twenty under-15
football teams battle it out for the crown from 6th - 9th August.
The
talented Pretoria-based squad from Rosina Sedibane sports school will represent
South Africa at the most prestigious under-15 football tournament in the
world. The winner’s made history at this
year’s South African regional finals, beating Supersport United FC 1-0 and
becoming the first school team to qualify for the MUPC World Finals since the
tournament was founded in 1993.
Since
qualifying for the World Finals, the Rosina youngsters have been hard at work
preparing for the international competition, including several trainings
sessions with the senior coaching team of one of the top South African football
clubs, Mamelodi Sundowns, where they gained valuable technical and tactical
experience.
Rosina
Sedibane head coach, Reginald Paterson said, “While the boys do not train with
a professional football academy like many of the international teams that made
it through to the MUPC World Finals, these players have earned their right to
represent South Africa and are ready to challenge the best teams from around
the globe.”
The
youngsters from Rosina were afforded a further experience of a lifetime,
meeting internationally renowned players at the top of their game including
England’s Joleon Lescott, Micah Richards and James Milner and Serbia’s Matija
Nastasić, during a master class training session at the Nike Football Training
Centre in Soweto in July. The young players gained insight into the level of
skill required to participate at the top level.
Matches
will take place at the Manchester United first team training ground, with the
MUPC finalists earning the privilege of playing at one of the most prestigious
football grounds around the world, Old Trafford.
The 20 competing
teams in this year’s tournament include:
Dallas
Texans (USA)
Chivas
FC (Mexico)
San
Luis de Quillota (Chile)
Boca
Juniors (Argentina)
Internacional
(Brasil)
Arsenal
(UK)
Manchester
United (UK)
Borussia
Dortmand (Germany)
AC
Milan (Italy)
NK
Domzale (Slovenia)
GNK
Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
Real
Madrid (Spain)
Grasshopers
(Switzerland)
Right
to Dream (Ghana)
Rosina Sedibane Sports School (South Africa)
Saswco
(Indonesia)
Ulsan
Hyundai FC (Korea)
Omiya
Ardija (Japan)
Shandong
Luneng FC (China)
Onehunga
Sports (New Zealand)
