Safa Cape Town confirmed their much-anticipated technical team for their academy side who’ll be gunning for glory at the 37th edition of the Bayhill Premier Cup.
This Easter Spectacle takes place over Easter weekend at the Erica Park Sports Complex in Belhar with the finals at the Athlone Stadium on Easter Monday.
Well, one cannot say there are any real surprises as No Bones with Jones can confirm the region went in-house when they basically promoted the diminutive figure of coach Lwazi “Dudu” Galada (pictured), who was the assistant to Goodwin Lewis last year.
Alfred Ndungane from Strand LFA is one of the newbies who have been roped in to fill Galada’s vacant positions as assistant. Another very noticeable inclusion is that of Gwappie Esau, who takes over from Hendrik Landman as the Conditioning Coach while the – Goalkeeper coach and manager’s position remained unchanged from last year. Barry Petersen and the ‘Silver Fox’, Gordon Crumpton, will head up those positions respectively.
Furthermore, Lewis and coach Boebie Solomons will be closely in attendance to assist with technical requirements if needed. The region’s participation in this tournament has always been a questioned one as many feel they are getting a free passage for a team that doesn’t really exist, whereas the teams in the Cape Metropole need to do it the hard way.
Now, while this sentiment might not be totally inaccurate, Safa CT Academy has shown gradual improvement over the years. During their infancy times at the event, they have managed to progress beyond the group stage into the knockout rounds.
This has improved in recent years as the squad got better with time, which saw the side reaching the Round of 16. The previous two years, they have actually looked good value for money, but got bundled out at the quarters and the semi’s, respectively.
The region will be hosting their first round of open trails at the Voorbrug Sport Complex in Delft on Saturday – and now the work begins. Players identified here will be incorporated with those scouted in the qualifying rounds of the Bayhill as well as the talent identified in the Third Division.
