23 February 2022- The South Africa Coaches Association (SAFCA) would like to congratulate Maximal Football student, Coach Ntombifuthi Khumalo, together with the Edendale Technical High School, for a laudable representation of the Maximal Football coaching concept and the country at the inaugural Africa Schools Champions Cup held in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Khumalo, a member of SAFCA Msundisi Region in Pietermaritzburg, led the Edendale Technical High School at the pan-African U16 tournament, in the DRC.
She guided the team to the final of the tournament against Morocco after having beaten Ethiopia 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Despite a 1- 0 loss in the final, Khumalo and the team made all of us proud, representing the country with pride.
Six countries, South Africa, Morocco, Senegal, Benin, Ethiopia, and the host, represented by U16 male and female school football teams, took part in the tournament meant to prioritize education and social development through football.
“We are proud of what Khumalo achieved with these young girls and it is our vision to educate more and more coaches, especially at grassroots level to push for a South African football playing philosophy. Remember, it is at grassroots where you can you either make or break talent and we believe with the right coaching at this level, premised on the concept of Maximal Football, we will develop players that will eventually be able to realize their true potential,” says SAFCA President Greg Mashilo.
Maximal Football, a coaching concept specially designed to maximize the special traits of African talent, was represented by Khumalo. “We hope as the FIFA and CAF seek to improve competition at this level, they will also realize that competition is not development and that they will seek to strengthen football development on the continent with coach education specially designed for African talent,” add Mashilo.