German Bundesliga outfit FC Augsburg coach Jess Thorup will be keeping a close eye on South African talent ahead of the Mpumalanga Premiers Cup.
Thorup confirmed to the media at the Anew Resort training center in Mbombela, Mpumalanga on Friday.
“We actually brought our Chief Scout with us on this tour,” Thorup said.
“And that is because we are interested in building our team as strong as possible. But when we’re here, when we play in such a tournament when we play the other teams, if anything is exciting going on, we will not say no.
New experience, scout checking out new talent
“For me, it is also a new experience to play against a South African team. To see what kind of players and impact they can have in the games. So let us play the two games and let us see what happens.”
Augsburg will kick off their pre-season tour to South Africa against Tanzanian giants Young Africans at the Mbombela Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The game will get underway at 3pm.
The Augsburg players, coaches, and management landed in Mzansi on Thursday. They were welcomed in style at the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport by traditional dancers.
Newly signed Steve Mounie said he appreciated and enjoyed his second visit to South Africa. He said his first visit was not the same as he was on national team duty with Benin. This was during their 2026 World Cup Qualifier Group C match against Bafana Bafana at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Bafana won the game 2-1 and Mounie was on the score sheet.
Wants more European teams coming to Africa
“It’s always nice coming to South Africa, as you know I was here in November. But the welcoming was a bit different from when I was here the last time.
“So, this time around it was a great welcoming when we got here in Mpumalanga. Because we had people singing and dancing for us – which was a good and warm welcome for us. And that was very nice from South Africans. I hope this week will go very well and we will have a great tournament.”
The 29-year-old also said that he is looking forward to the Mpumalanga Premiers Cup. He emphasised the importance of having more European teams coming to Africa for their pre-season.
Good for the continent, and the game
“I am definitely looking forward to the tournament because it doesn’t happen often to have European teams coming to Africa to play some game. So for me, I am very delighted to be here.
“It is good for Africa and South Africa that this happened. To show the world that European teams can come to Africa and do training camps and play tournaments. I mean, you have good infrastructure, and the world needs to see that,” he added.
The German outfit will be in Mzansi for the entire week. They will close off their tour against TS Galaxy next week Saturday.
