Football Stars of Tomorrow
Volkswagen Junior Masters
The South African Volkswagen Junior Masters forms part of an international youth tournament for boys under the age of 13 that is supported by Volkswagen Germany. The first Volkswagen Junior Masters took place in Germany in 1999 and since then the event has grown from strength to strength. In 2008, 333 teams supported by 245 Volkswagen Dealers competed for the German title. The European Volkswagen Junior Masters is now the largest youth football competition in the world with 730 teams and more than 9,500 players participating in the 2008 competition.
The inaugural South African Volkswagen Junior Masters came to an end on the 6th of January in Port Elizabeth. Robertsham FC from Johannesburg – sponsored by Volkswagen Dealership, McDuling Motors – were crowned champions when they won on penalties after their tightly contested match against Barons Western Cape ended in a goalless draw. The young stars will represent South Africa in the World Finals in Madrid, Spain, which will take place from the 5th to the 10th of May 2010.
Volkswagen South Africa has been involved in South African football since 2005 with a title sponsorship of Moroka Swallows. The South African Junior Masters was the next step in providing grass roots support for our national game by encouraging the Volkswagen Dealer network to support their local community teams.
Sixteen teams participated in the inaugural event, and fourteen of these were supported by Dealers from all over South Africa, with one team coming from Namibia providing an international flavour to the tournament. Volkswagen’s flagship team, Moroka Swallows, supported the tournament by sponsoring their U13 team to compete.
As part of the fanfare around the South African final, the Bundesliga champions VfL Wolfsburg (sponsored by Volkswagen Germany) played an exciting game against the Moroka Swallows. A selection of the players from each Dealer-sponsored U13 team took part as mascots and ball-boys in this ‘friendly’. The match was won by VfL Wolfsburg 2-1.
Feedback from the young players who partook in the Junior Masters was overwhelming. Here is what some of them had to say:
“I like soccer because it is enjoyable and I will stay out of trouble. If it wasn’t for my coach I wouldn’t be anywhere right now”
– Nkosi Makubu (Lindsay Saker Volkswagen Johannesburg)
“I love the passion and the speed of the game. I love being able to get dirty and I love being able to work together and the excitement of who’s going to win in each game.”
– Richie Matthysen (Strijdom Park Volkswagen)
“It is my dream to go to Madrid and play in the stadium. And I hope that in five years time I will be playing there as a professional player.” – Nodia Mukhari (McDulling Motors)
The guest of honour at the closing ceremony was Claudia Krutzenbichler from Volkswagen Germany. Claudia praised this event of international standards saying: “The tournament was a great success and I was really impressed with the professionalism of the teams and the event as a whole. The talent shown by the boys on the field and the enthusiasm of the boys off the field was a pleasure to witness. We really look forward to hosting the South African team in Madrid in May 2010”.
For further information on the Volkswagen Junior Masters South Africa, please contact Malherbe Pelser from On Side Consulting at +27 (0)21 448 5340 or on malherbe@onside.co.za. Visit the Moroka Swallows website at morokaswallows.co.za.
