Maties FC head coach, Craig Walters, has made their intention crystal clear for the 37th edition of the u19 Bayhill Premier Cup.
The CAF C Licensed coach from Elsies River believes that they have learnt from past experiences and that this time round, they are not at the tournament “just to fill up the numbers.”
This Easter spectacle officially kicks off on Wednesday 1 – 5 April 2026 at the Erica Park Sport Complex in Belhar with the finals taking place at the Athlone Stadium on Easter Monday (6 April).
Walters, a Bachelor of Education graduate from the University of Stellenbosch, will lead his Maties FC-side for a second successive season after they fell short in the quarterfinals of the Plate-section and is full of bravado this time round.
“Look, we would definitely want to improve on that and I think the squad is ready and we’ve prepared well, we fixed things that we needed to fix, you know,” Walters stated to No Bones with Jones. “Obviously when you enter a big competition like this, your main aim is to go out and win it.
“If that is not your goal, then I think you should not be a coach in the tournament because we are definitely not the tournament just to fill up the numbers and we will give it our best,” he added.
The 29-year-old teacher at Range High School is convinced that the gruelling four-month long playoff campaign, where they ended as runners-up to Cape Town City during the group stages of the final round of the Bayhill qualifiers, also gave them a good measuring stick of what to expect at the biggest youth spectacle on the African continent.
“Obviously our game against CT City gave us a good indication of where to sort out things and also what’s to come at the Bayhill,” Walters further explained. “We lost that game by 0-1. We actually missed a penalty which could have changed things but this game helped us a lot as well, you know.
“When you place teams like City you must be alert for their quick free-kicks and don’t take too long to set up your defensive structure, you know. But all in all, I think we have done what we could and now it’s for the boys to do the business on the field,” Walters concluded.
The Maties are drawn in Group F along with Mamelodi Sundowns, SAFA Cape Town and Jacaranda Callies.
