In a first for Young Bafana Soccer Academy (YB) and the Helderberg, a team from the basin will be fielded in the Safa second division, the ABC Motsepe League.
The local club and its members are looking forward to participating in the league, which commences in November. “This is a giant leap forward for Young Bafana as well as for football in the Helderberg basin,” the club said in a statement.
Trials for local and outside players were recently held and the squad is being finalised. For inspiring 16-, 17-, and 18-year-old YB players this is a real boost in furthering their football careers in the professional league.
The ABC team made their debut in a Nedbank Cup match against Maties FC on Sunday 2 October. The match drew good support to the newly opened YB Arena in Lwandle. Unfortunately, Young Bafana went down 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out.
Coach Dylan Deane and his team have been hard at work putting their team together and look forward to a competitive first year in the league.
YB has formed a partnership with German Bundesliga FC Köln, in which regular workshops are held in respective technical football training and development of young players. The workshops have proven to be beneficial to coaches, who aim to ensure that YB stays up to date with the latest developments.
The Young Bafana Soccer Academy is a registered NPO, which provides opportunities to young players from under-12 to under-18. Most of the players are from the local townships, Lwandle, Nomzamo and Zola, and nutritional and educational programmes are also provided to the players.
