Hellenic youngsters come up tops in the Lucky Star Cup 2022

Winners of the annual Lucky Star Cup 2022 tournament, had a blissful start of the holidays, among them were the Hellenic FC from Milnerton.

The teams participated in the weekend-long cup along with 1 700 players from different provinces and Namibia.

Hosted by the FC Kapstadt, the tournament saw prestigious local sport fields such as Hartleyvale, Green Point and Athlone Stadiums buzzing with entertainment and energetic games from the under-7 to the under-20s.

This was the 11th edition of the tournament and the first since the lockdown.

The Hellenic won six trophies, individually and as a team.

These were under-7 cup and top goal scorer and category's player of the tournament, under-10 cup and player of the tournament, and the under-11 plate section winners.

The management attributes the victory to steady commitment by the players and coaches who implemented new training strategies during the past two years the two years the cup was detoured by the Covid-19 lockdown.

Gershawn Coetzee, the general manager, said: “Winning trophies will always look great on the mantle, but it has to go hand-in-hand with our philosophy of developing raw talent and ensure that players and coaches play the Hellenic way.

“We have found young coaches who are cutting their teeth in coaching, but we also have experienced coaches who understand our ethos and philosophy.

“We can proudly confirm that our club is in good hands and we will continue to unearth raw talent within our communities and ensure that we develop future professionals’," added Guy Byrne, the chairperson for the club.

Other winners were: Under-10, Hout Bay United FC, Under-11, Hellenic FC, Under-12 and under-16 Mamelodi Sundowns FC, Under-13, University of Pretoria, Under-14, Cape Town Spurs FC, and Under-20 were the Stellenbosch FC. And the hosts managed to secure two cups, won by the under-8 and Under-9 teams.

Organisers were thrilled with the huge support from Capetonians.

“The Kapstadt Cup has again provided a crucial platform to develop and inspire the youth of the country.

“We will continue to push the standards of South Africa football through our club programs and this event to strive to provide world class opportunity for South African youth and beyond.

“We look forward to evolve the Kapstadt CUP to an international event in 2023 with the participation of the biggest clubs in the world,” Zaid Omar, the FC Kapstadt chairperson.

Shawn Bishop, Mamelodi Sundowns head of youth, congratulated the hosts, saying, “it was a brilliant competition with high performances from all the teams”.

Nahum Rhode, an under-16 player for the FC Kapstadt said although his team lost in the finals he was “extremely happy” that the juniors brought home two cups.

“I have been part of the tournament for five years and the tournament is a great way of bringing all football lovers from different backgrounds together.

“This gives us an opportunity to play in memorable venues which not everyone gets to experience and it gives us a great exposure as we get to play among the big names.”