For
the second year running, South Africa’s youngsters dominate Nike’s ‘The Chance’
global football trial competition earning their place in the final selection of
the global football talent search.
Charlie
Tsotetsi and Melusi Zulu, both from Johannesburg, competed in a five-day
football trial hosted in Barcelona, Spain last week, and were on Saturday,
August 25, confirmed amongst the best of 16 international players to be scouted
by renowned coaches.
Tsotetsi
and Zulu, both from Johannesburg will embark on a once-in-a-lifetime world tour
from January 2013, travelling to the United States, Europe and the United
Kingdom, to compete against the United States Soccer Federation Youth Academy,
Juventus Youth Academy and Manchester United Youth Academy, respectively.
During
the tour, their opportunity at turning professional is accelerated as scouts
frequent these Academies to identify new talent. The duo were selected out of
the best 100 players from 55 countries.
“I’ve
been waiting for this chance all my life and it’s finally here! I’m very
excited and will be working even harder to make it to the top, which is turning
professional,” said an ecstatic Charlie Tsotetsi.
Tsotetsi
was earmarked from day one, under the watchful eyes of some 25 coaches
including head coach Jimmy Gilligan from the Nike Academy. While, Zulu, who is only 16 years old, played
exceptionally well, also catching the attention of the scouts early on.
Gilligan was impressed with their tactical and technical abilities, and their
discipline.
“I
am very proud of myself and know that I’ve given it my all as I wanted this so
much. The entire experience and what Nike
has done for us is amazing. I can’t wait to get back home to celebrate with my
family and friends,” commented Zulu.
The
Final 100 gathered in Barcelona for the week to train and play in the shadows
of the Camp Nou at FC Barcelona’s training centre. The group of young footballers was cut to
just 26 on the final day of competition which saw the players step out at FC
Barcelona’s Mini Estadi – in a semi-final game refereed by celebrated English
match official Howard Webb – as the coaches made their final decision on the
selection of the best 16.
“To
the winners, I say a massive well done,” said Jimmy Gilligan, Head of the Nike
Academy. “Out of 100,000 footballers who
entered The Chance, they are the top 16 and I am looking forward to working
with each of them. They should enjoy the
moment but there is still a lot of work to be done. We will be taking them on an incredible trip
to play some of the best youth teams in the world.”
South
Africa was represented by three players at The Chance Final, with Tsotetsi and
Zulu progressing comfortably to each round, while Nicholas Mynhardt progressed
to the top 52.
The
players will be arriving in South Africa on the morning of Monday, August 27.
In
2011, Reyaad Pieterse and Jonathon King were selected in the first The Chance
trial hosted in London. They won a
year-long contract at the Nike Academy, playing against the best academy teams
in the world. Pieterse recently signed a
professional contract with Shamrock Rovers FC in Ireland.
Here are the Final
Top 16:
#32
Dimitris Komnos, Greece
#8
Wallace Camilo, Brazil
#27
David Fernandes, France
#83
Bubakary Sonko, Sweden
#77
Melusi Zulu, South Africa
#72
Petar Golubovic, Serbia
#79
Gonzalo Balbi, Spain
#100
Brian Iloski, United States
#92
Jose Figura, United Kingdom
#7
Dario Van Den Buijs, Belgium
#76
Teboho Charlie Tsotetsi, South Africa
#41
Ryosuke Kinoshita, Japan
#68
Kirill Laptev
#78
Saifeddine Alami Bazza, Spain
#6
Ismail H’Maidat, Belgium
#39
Marco Di Lauro, Italy
