The under 17 National Championship is one of the most celebrated competition on the calendar of the South African Football Association (SAFA). It was first played in June 1991 in Durban as part of celebrating the formation of SAFA in March that year. Our partners Coca Cola have played a significant role in the success of the under 17 Championships, they have carried us for 16 years, and in the process we managed to supply quality players to other National Senior Teams and to our Special Member, the Premier Soccer League (PSL).

The PSL has recognised the value and significance of this championship; they see this competition as an important feeder to their clubs as well, hence their financial support for this championship, and we are grateful to the league for this fine gesture.

We are anticipating a week long display of pulsating football from the 9 SAFA Provincial teams and the 10^th team from our Associate member; the South African Schools Football Association (SASFA).

We are expecting Secunda and the Province of Mpumalanga to be a home for talent scouts for this week, SAFA Provincial coaches have selected the best available talent, and it is incumbent upon teams in all our leagues, (Metropolitan LFA League, SAB Regional League, Vodacom Promotional League, National First Division and the PSL) to identify talent and nurture it accordingly.

SAFA has adopted a Long Term Development Plan following Technical Workshop in August convened in partnership with FIFA and CAF, and part of the objectives to ensure that our junior teams qualify and win major international tournaments like the African Youth Championships, the Under 17 FIFA World Cup and the Olympics Just to name a few. The work starts now, and our National Coaches are driving the process to realize our objective.

President's Corner: 2008 Under 17 National Championship