The open Baptist Church is set to host the Step up 7-Aside Tournament which will be aimed at giving young players a chance to showcase their skills. The event will be held this coming Saturday where some 16 best youth teams will participate. The tournament has received the backing of Botswana Football Association. The tournament will give players a chance to showcase their talents in front of an open crowd and possibly scouts from top clubs around the country.
In an interview with tournament organizers, Paul Ndoka and Nadeem Tajbhay, they revealed that the purpose of the tournament is geared towards development and that the motivation behind the tournament was the lack of appropriate development infrastructures and recreational activities available for the youth The duo was optimistic that their initiative can bring desired results to the who eventually want to make it big in the world of football. The tournament is to be contested by age groups under 11 and under 15. The organizers told The Telegraph Sport that the two had decided that it was best to target the younger age groups who had not yet been exposed to clubs.
The two said they chose these two age groups because at those agesa players begins to identify themselves and adapt to certain technicalities of the game. “Ages 12-14 are arguably the most important years for a young footballer, with regards to nurturing their talent because we feel developing years from between the ages 12-15 are crucial in the development of player,” Tajbhay said. The tournament which has various sponsors such as Choppies, Trade World, Naledi Motors, Motor Centre Toyota, Robot Electrical will be well organized with new match balls nets, medals and trophies.
The tournament will see a number of matches taking place as teams will look to progress from the group stages into the finals where the winners will receive a medal and a trophy. The two urge the public to give their full support and promised that the talent on the field could be the future football stars. “You never know you might just see the next future Zebras star,” said Tajbhay.
