Gone are the days when Stellenbosch FC’s Academy was the proverbial whipping boys of youth football in the Western Cape.
Needless to say, when Stelllies’ youth pitch up for a tournament nowadays, they are considered ‘ firm favourites’ to walk away with honours.
Previous successes in tournaments include the under-16 Bayview Cup, under-20 FC Kapstadt Tournament and also not forgetting their runner-up achievement in the prestigious Bayhill Cup in 2022 – this has certainly paved the way for their peers to follow.
Their DStv Diski Challenge (DDC) squad has also scooped up this title (2022) where they progressed to the Nextgen Tournament in the United Kingdom, extending their footprint on a global platform.
Stellies’ under-18 division has now obliged and can claim bragging rights of their own after winning the Engen Knockout Challenge at the Rooikrans Sports Complex on Sunday.
The Stellenbosch team had to overcome two former champions in order to lift the trophy.
They beat Cape Town Spurs and Ubuntu Academy on penalties. This was also sweet revenge for last season’s shortcomings in the final against Cape Town City.
Stellies will now represent the Western Cape at Engen’s national tournament in Gauteng later this month.
Coach Jean-Pierre Ferugia said he is extremely proud of his players, especially since they had to play under ‘abnormal circumstances” – he was referring to the tournament’s postponement and venue change from Langa to Grassy Park.
“Massive credit to the club’s continued push to try and extend their professional status down to the junior division,” Ferugia stated.
“They’ve gone from the top-down approach and year by year they just keep trying to formalise and professionalise the set-up. It takes time and it will continue to take time.
“The league they play in is against strong academies like Ubuntu, Young Bafana and Hout Bay and this really helps the players develop.
“We as coaches are just trying our best to keep the talent in this team and we are extremely proud of what they have achieved.
“We will keep monitoring their progression to the DDC and I think that in itself is probably the bigger achievement over the win, but we’ll take the success.
“The fact that we are able to promote the local players to a very, very strong DDC team which recruits nationally, is a big plus,” Ferugia added.
Ferugia will have his work cut for him at the national tournament later this month as he is ‘competing’ with the DDC outfit for players.
“The DDC is back in full league season, they actually play Kaizer Chiefs the same weekend and we will have to share the load and we might not have our full squad. We will have to fight the DDC coaches, but I’m sure we’ll make a plan,” Ferugia jokingly concluded.
Meanwhile, Cape Town Roses have rewritten the history books in the girls’ section when they became the first team to successfully defend their title.
Roses were a thorn in the flesh for the 2021 champion, RV United, beating them by 2-0 to claim back-to-back titles. Roses’ coach, Xolilwe Madikane, said it is not always easy to maintain the team with players coming and going.
“It is a commitment more than anything else from both the players and management,” Madikane pointed out.
“You must remember the tournament only started catering for the girls three years ago. So, I’m very proud of what they have achieved in a short space of time.”
