Just listening to how passionately Shosholoza FC’s Ryan Botha (pictured) speaks about the channels created for young talent to move on to Europe, it is pretty clear that the possibilities at this Pelican Heights-based club are endless.
It also helps to have a very experienced and former pro player like Botha at the helm to ensure that no talent falls through the proverbial cracks and his coaching stint at Hout Bay United Football Community club and elsewhere has also prepared him well.
Botha, who’s enrolled for his Uefa A-licence next year explained to No Bones with Jones: “We are sending three players now to Sweden in November just to be assessed by one of my old coaches. I’ve opened that channel for players to go through to him to be assessed so we are sending two 16-year-olds and a 20-year-old.
“The 20-year-old has more of an idea of place and pursue opportunities over there while the two 16-year-olds will do an assessment to see where they are currently at with development. I will work on them closer when they get back to SA with the idea of when they are 18 or 19-year-old looking to place them overseas somewhere,” he added.
Botha, who has the advantage of both player and now coach knows all too well that football is a cutthroat affair and not everyone will get their break overseas – or even locally for that matter but hopefully other avenues will be created for them.
“The players who might miss that international opportunity or any football one might get them into some sort of education system like some college in America,” Botha further stated. “The biggest objective is to turn young footballers, male or female, into better people with big hearts so that they can create a life for themselves.
“We want to be the vehicle for them to bypass the difficulties they face and expose them to European competitions and hopefully they get an opportunity to further their career. If not pursue a football career through education and ultimately creating better people. Just last year the under 12’s and under 16’s travelled to Spain to participate in the Mad Cup and it was great exposure for them, you know.”
Shosholoza, owned by Richard Wilson, an American with Mexican roots, along with his partner Clint Roberts has big plans for the club and has openly expressed his desire to play a more prominent role in the local football circles.
Our website reported some time back that Wilson was at one stage negotiating with Zizwe United for their Motsepe League status.
Botha, who coaches the u16’s, -18’s and u23’s side at Shosholoza confirmed that the club still harbour aspirations of getting to a Third Tier-level of SA football in the near future.
“Sort of like a Ubuntu (Academy) for example and always produce players, young players and really drive them. For example, my under 16 team I coached, I had a couple of under14’s playing with them and in my under 18 team I always push my under16’s up and my under-23 team always has from my under-18’s as well as strong under-16 players available to them as well.
“If you want to strive and develop players you must always make sure that they are growing while not being tested in a negative way. You don’t want to break players’ confidence but find a happy medium where they are being challenged but still growing,” he concluded.
