Castle Lager SuperStars talent search continues as SAB League clubs play to qualify for Nedbank Cup
The SAB League’s provincial playoffs kicked off this past weekend with two provinces hosting their respective matches with the first two teams remaining in the hunt for a place in South Africa’s national knockout competition, the Nedbank Cup.
The action in Mpumalanga was attended by Castle Lager representatives and scouts, SAFA NEC member Mr. Fanyana Sibanyoni, SAFA Nkangala regional President Mr. Linda Zwane, Ambassador Philemon Masinga and a specialist team from Amisco responsible for monitoring and tracking player performance.
The playoffs were held at the Sasol Club in Embalenhle where United Rangers advanced on goal difference in a mini-league that also involved Jikezela and Liverpool. The second provincial playoffs took place in the Eastern Cape in Jeffrey’s Bay, where eight teams started the day but only one winner would emerge and that honour went to SwartKops who defeated Madikizela 2-1 in the final.
Castle Lager are using the provincial playoffs to fine-tune their search for the SuperStars of tomorrow. By putting together the SuperStars XI, a squad comprising of the best players from the SAB League, Castle Lager are hoping to increase the pool of players that Bafana Bafana have available to them for future selection. The road to stardom needs to start somewhere and this platform is providing the SAB Regional League players an opportunity to reach for their dreams. The Castle Lager SuperStars XI will camp in January at the High Performance Centres in Stellenbosch and Pretoria under the watchful eye of Neil Tovey.
Castle Lager scouting ambassador Philemon Masinga brought his notable experience to proceedings at the Sasol Club. The striker who played in England and Italy during his playing career was pleased with what he saw, “the players were trying their best to impress and showcase their talent, there was a lot of energy and the players were putting their hands up to try and get noticed for the camp in January. There’s a lot of rough talent, and with the right training, a bit of time we will get the best out of them.”
Ashley Kotzin, CEO of football talent agency Forwardzone and the man credited with launching the careers of Kermit Erasmus and Kamohelo Mokotjo, was also in attendance at the Sasol Club and he was quite forthright in his views.
“Having seen the talent on display through the course of the day, with the right coaching and mentoring we can be assured that the players identified will be able to improve the core fundamentals of passing, tactical awareness, decision-making and understanding possession. Due to the sheer numbers and geography that we’re dealing with in this division there is no doubt in my mind we will be able to find some real talent in this league,” concluded Kotzin.
This weekend’s SAB Regional League playoff will take place in the North-West (Rustenburg), Western Cape (Beaufort West) and Free State (Mangaung).
For further information visit on mobile http://m.castlelager.co.za/tomorrowssuperstars and on web www.castlelager.co.za/tomorrowssuperstars
