The countdown to the kick-off of the most anticipated developmental football tournament in South Africa, the Durban U19 International Football Tournament, has officially begun. The teams to participate in the Provincial Selection and International Tournaments were paired during the Final DRAW that took place today, 21/05/15, at a Media Briefing in Umlazi, South of Durban.
Build up to the International Tournament will begin with the Provincial U19 Selection Tournament scheduled for 19 – 21 June 2015, where final selections for the home team, the KZN Academy X1 will take place. Teams from all 11 SAFA Regions will battle it out during the two-day tournament and the best players will be selected to proceed to the final camp in July where the squad to represent the Province in the Durban U19 International Football Tournament will be selected.
Participating regions include: Umkhanyakude, Zululand, Uthungulu, Amajuba, uThukela, eThekwini, uMgungundlovu, uMzinyathi, Harry Gwala, iLembe and, Ugu. They will be joined by a select number of the KZN Academy X1 Team. The games will be played at the Cato Manor Soccer Fields.
The Durban U19 International Football Tournament will take place from Wednesday, 29 July to Saturday, 8 August 2015. Visiting teams that will participate in the international tournament include: English giants Arsenal FC; Italian masters of football, AC Milan; PSV Eindhoven from Holland; Turkey’s Galatasary, Celtic FC of Scotland and Germany’s VfB Stuttgart. The home Teams are the KZN Academy X1 and the SAFA National U19 Team. The group stages will be played at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Clermont and Umlazi’s King Zwelithini Stadium. Semi-finals will be at Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu and the iconic Moses Mabhida Stadium will host the finals.
Preparations of the facilities are well underway, as all the stadia have been prepared accordingly to accommodate the scheduled double-header games. Accommodation and transport arrangements for the various teams have also been confirmed.
Kia Motors and Legea have been confirmed as vehicle and technical associate sponsors respectively.
GROUP A: KING ZWELITHINI
Match Day 1 – 29 July
15.00 : Arsenal Vs Celtic
17.15 : KZN Academy X1 Vs PSV Eindhoven
Match Day 3 – 31 July
15.00 : KZN Academy X1 Vs Arsenal
17.15 : PSV Eindhoven Vs Celtic
Match Day 5 – 2 August
15.00 : Arsenal Vs PSV Eindhoven
17.15 : KZN Academy X1 Vs Celtic
Group B: Sugar Ray Xulu
Match Day 2 – 30 July
15.00 : VfB Stuttgart Vs AC Milan
17.15 : National U19 Team Vs Galatasaray
Match Day 4 – 01 August
15.00 : National U19 Team Vs VfB Stuttgart
17.15 : Galatasaray Vs AC Milan
Match Day 6 – 3 August
15.00 : VfB Stuttgart Vs Galatasaray
17.15 : National U19 Vs AC Milan
Match Day 7 – 5 August (Semi-Final) – Princess Magogo Stadium
15.00: Group A Winner vs Group B Second Place
17.30: Group B Winner vs Group A Second Place
Match Day 8 – 8 August (3rd & 4th Place Play Off and Tournament Final) – Moses Mabhida Stadium
15.00: Semi-Final 1 Loser vs Semi-Final 2 Loser
17.30: Semi-Final 1 Winner vs Semi-Final 2 Winner