PICTURES: Paving the future for aspiring South African soccer players

Shield has launched the Sbonis‘iDiski campaign in May this year to unearth talented footballers from across South Africa.

Hosting nationwide trials, led by Siphiwe Mkhonza, former Bafana Bafana defender and football analyst on SABC Soccer Zone, Shield scouted South Africa to find players who have dedicated their lives to this beautiful game. These players demonstrated technical skill, speed and agility, controlled footwork, strong defence skills and overall dedication to the game.

Trials commenced in August 2017 in Pretoria and subsequently moved on to Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Durban and Johannesburg. The best 5 players have been chosen from each region by the local coaches – as well as a lucky wild card winner – to form the final 26 players.

Finals week will be supported by Football Development Officers from the Chelsea Foundation, Steve Winnett, Christopher Woodward and Russell Banyard, who have tailored and developed a training and skills development programme that exemplifies Chelsea FC’s football philosophy.

This training programme will focus on on-field training, skills and technique development, training theory, nutrition, strength and conditioning, drills by skill (dribbling, tackling, passing, shooting etc.) and what it takes to succeed and perform at professional levels.

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Papi Mabele

Papi Mabele has a marketing background, he is a digital marketing expert with extensive experience in launching and building global brands in the emerging markets. Papi is also an avid tech writer, enthusiast and all round tech junkie. As a freelance writer and analyst he has been numerously published in Popular Mechanics (SA), GQ South Africa, Premier Magazine, Driven Magazine, Bloem News, Courant, The Weekly, Enthooze Magazine and PiE magazine amongst others.