The annual youth tournament, Engen Champ of Champs, will get underway at the University of Pretoria Tuks Stadium from Friday until the grand finale on Sunday.
New champions will be crowned at this year’s edition, as the Boys and Girls defending champions, Cape Town City and the University of Johannesburg, respectively, did not qualify for the Champ of Champs.
Kaizer Chiefs boys and Mamelodi Sundowns girls have emerged as favourites following Tuesday’s draw. The new champions will see themselves lift the new-look Engen Champ of Champs trophy.
READ: Cape Town City and UJ conquer Engen Champ of Champs
Chiefs targeting national glory
Chiefs U19 head coach David Mathebula believes his young charges have what it takes to compete for national honours, after falling short in defending it last year.
Amakhosi earned their ticket to the prestigious tournament by winning the Gauteng Engen Knockout Challenge in July, securing a place among the top youth sides from across South Africa.
“We are ready, and we’re happy that we’re playing the national. You look at the likes of Antalyaspor JPM CT FC; we’ve seen that they have been doing well. We’ve seen AmaZulu qualify, and we believe the other provinces will bring stronger teams as well,” Mathebula said.
READ: Phiri rocks European swagger at tourney
“So, it’s all about testing ourselves against the best in the other provinces. But yeah, we are ready; the boys are ready. You can hear them talking about the Engen most of the time when we are training.
“But we are ready, and we believe we’ll continue to prepare very well, and we’ll do well because we’re representing the province.
“We want to go as far as the final, and obviously, as I said, they are playing to win. We want to win the Champ of Champs,” Mathebula added.
Tournament continues to produce stars
The Engen tournament is one of the most prestigious and celebrated youth competitions, which has been played by several prominent football stars seen in South Africa.
The most recent stars that played the tournament include the likes of Thulani Serero, Percy Tau, Lebohang Phiri, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, and Relebohile Mofokeng, amongst others, who have all gone on to play abroad and represent Bafana Bafana at the highest level.
- The Engen Champ of Champs youth tournament will take place from Friday to Sunday at the University of Pretoria Tuks Stadium.
- Defending champions Cape Town City (boys) and University of Johannesburg (girls) did not qualify for this year's tournament.
- Kaizer Chiefs boys and Mamelodi Sundowns girls are the favourites following the tournament draw on Tuesday.
- Kaizer Chiefs U19 team qualified by winning the Gauteng Engen Knockout Challenge in July and aim to win the national title.
- The Engen tournament has produced notable South African stars such as Thulani Serero, Percy Tau, and Lebohang Phiri who have played internationally and for Bafana Bafana.
The annual youth tournament, Engen Champ of Champs, will get underway at the University of Pretoria Tuks Stadium from Friday until the grand finale on Sunday.
New champions will be crowned at this year’s edition, as the Boys and Girls defending champions, Cape Town City and the University of Johannesburg, respectively, did not qualify for the Champ of Champs.
Kaizer Chiefs boys and Mamelodi Sundowns girls have emerged as favourites following Tuesday's draw. The new champions will see themselves lift the new-look Engen Champ of Champs trophy.
READ: Cape Town City and UJ conquer Engen Champ of Champs
Chiefs U19 head coach David Mathebula believes his young charges have what it takes to compete for national honours, after falling short in defending it last year.
Amakhosi earned their ticket to the prestigious tournament by winning the Gauteng Engen Knockout Challenge in July, securing a place among the top youth sides from across South Africa.
“We are ready, and we're happy that we're playing the national. You look at the likes of Antalyaspor JPM CT FC; we've seen that they have been doing well. We've seen AmaZulu qualify, and we believe the other provinces will bring stronger teams as well,” Mathebula said.
READ: Phiri rocks European swagger at tourney
“So, it's all about testing ourselves against the best in the other provinces. But yeah, we are ready; the boys are ready. You can hear them talking about the Engen most of the time when we are training.
"But we are ready, and we believe we'll continue to prepare very well, and we'll do well because we're representing the province.
“We want to go as far as the final, and obviously, as I said, they are playing to win. We want to win the Champ of Champs,” Mathebula added.
The Engen tournament is one of the most prestigious and celebrated youth competitions, which has been played by several prominent football stars seen in South Africa.
The most recent stars that played the tournament include the likes of Thulani Serero, Percy Tau, Lebohang Phiri, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, and Relebohile Mofokeng, amongst others, who have all gone on to play abroad and represent Bafana Bafana at the highest level.
