With a seemingly ever-growing phenomenon of wonderkids across the world, former Sweden-based star and now-Cape Town City youth coach Mark Mayambela has revealed some of the country's brightest talent to be on the lookout for.
There is certainly no shortage of young players bursting on to the scene as top clubs around the world look to keep securing emerging talent who have set youth football alight.
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Just this month alone, Spanish giants Real Madrid and FC Barcelona landed two of the hottest prospects in world football, with the former signing 18-year-old midfielder Arda Guler from Fenerbahce while the latter secured Brazilian teenager Vitor Roque's signature from Athletico Paranaense.
Guler, who has been touted as the "Turkish Messi", joined Real in a six-year deal for a fee of €20 million (R402 million), and despite having only turned 18 in February this year, he already has four caps for Turkey's senior national team. Barca, meanwhile, spent exactly double that fee to acquire 18-year-old Roque's services but he will only join the club at the start of the 2024/25 campaign as he remains on loan at Paranaense.
South Africa also appears to be demonstrating a growing rise of high-quality youth players, with Major League Soccer side Philadelphia Union recently signing defender Olwethu Makhanya, who is just 19 years old, on a deal until 2025 from Stellenbosch FC, while Cassius Mailula, who is just 22, is believed to be set for a move to Toronto FC.
It is clear something is being done right at development level, and former Djurgardens winger Mayambela has insisted that annual national tournaments like the Engen Cup are to thank for some of the young players rising through. That competition is now on to its 20th edition since it first kicked off in 2003, and has helped unearth Bafana Bafana stars such as Lyle Foster, Percy Tau, and Thulani Serero, among others.
With Mayambela having also played in the esteemed youth showpiece as a teenager, the Cape Town City youth coach has now highlighted the fundamentals of the event, as well as a select crop of talent to look out for who made their mark in the tournament.
"It's important for these young players to realise their dreams and know that it is possible through sports or any other endeavour they will get into, that they can make a life or a career out of it.
"Fortunately enough, I will speak for [Luphumlo] Sifumba as an example... he won the player of the tournament in Gauteng [last year] and now he is a regular with the first team [at Cape Town City]. Those are the kind of stories you want to learn."
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Sifumba is now signed with international agency Roc Nation Sports, the same company that has teams such as AC Milan and Mamelodi Sundowns on their books, as well as big-name players like Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku.
Mayambela continued: "Xhosa Manyama, immediately after the Engen Cup, he signed a contract with the [Cape Town City] first team. Gabriel Amato, he also signed. There was Aviwe Ndevu, who also went with the U16 national team to Poland – when he came back, he signed a youth contract.
"Their stories mean more to the families of these boys because they are able to buy a loaf of bread. Therefore, you're not only developing football players, but also leaders and breadwinners at home.
"It's key for Engen to continue and I am also here to say 'do more' because you know the need that is out there. It's a great honour to be a part of this great tournament and the work it has done all through this year.
"I played it here as a player and now I am a coach, so it forms part of my development so that one day when I can coach the FC Barcelona U19s [laughs]."
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