HUNDREDS of young aspiring footballers between the ages of 18 and 23 showed up at Lucas Moripe Stadium in Tshwane yesterday for the 2017 Nedbank Ke Yona Team Search first try-outs.
Mzansi’s largest football talent search is conducted by an experienced quartet in former Bafana Bafana coach Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba, Under-23 coach Owen Da Gama, Khabo Zondo and Mike Mangena.
The Ke Yona Team Search is currently in its fifth year and has contributed remarkably to football development in the country.
Zondo, one of the coaches, said this time they were looking for more offensive players after not scoring a single goal in the past four years.
He said: “This is the first day and it has been a tough one. We have not seen what we are looking for.
“This time we’re a bit critical before selecting players.
“But I believe the other provinces won’t disappoint. They will up their game.”
In the past four years the coaches have discovered great players who graduated from the talent search and gone all the way to play for top Premier Soccer League and National First Division teams – some having even played for the senior national team.
Players who have been the pride of the talent search campaign includes Aubrey Modiba, Ian Chikohwa, Luthando Sixhaso and Bongani Mbuli.
- The try-outs today move to Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein, followed by Athlone Stadium, Western Cape, on Monday and then Eastern Cape’s Wolfson Stadium on 13 May.
On 20 May the search continues at Durban’s King Zwelithini Stadium in KwaZulu-Natal.
Rand Stadium in Joburg will conclude the try-outs on 10 June before the boot camp.
