14 August 2017 – The search for the next generation of South African women national team players made a stop in Middelburg, Mpumalanga over this past weekend to see what the province had to offer.
This was the seventh province visited by the SAFA Women’s Technical Team in search of raw untapped talent.
Talent was identified for the SAFA High Performance Centre, the South African U17 Girls National Team (Bantwana) and the South African U20 Girls National Team (Basetsana).
A total of 140 hopeful young girls attended the trials though not many were successful.
“We had a great turn out in Middelburg but there was not much to choose from. We only managed to find one new talent for the national U20 team, and at least four girls that can possibly make the SAFA High Performance program”.
“We believe that Mpumalanga as a Province can play a bigger role in developing women’s football. They have some the best resources; they however need to put a bit more focus into women’s football development,” said Maud Khumalo one of the selectors.
SAFA Assistant Technical Director, Fran Hilton-Smith concurred.
“The U20 Women’s National Team (Basetsana) will be active in September against Namibia in their first World Cup qualifier and we need to have identified the best talent from all nine provinces, which the coaches are trying to do,” said Hilton Smith.