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