Greenway a beacon of hope for young soccer players

The Greenway Sports Academy in Vhembe wants to become a beacon of hope for young boys who would like to see themselves playing in professional soccer teams.

According to the academy’s managing director and head coach, Mr Justice Matloga, they currently have youths from Limpopo (60), Gauteng (24), Mpumalanga (10) and one from the Free State. The academy has two camps, one in Louis Trichardt and the other in Thohoyandou.

Teams of the academy are currently participating in friendly games against Pretoria-based soccer teams across all five divisions, U/12, U/14, U/15, U/17, and U/19, at Moretele Park in Mamelodi.

“I had worked in the sports development field for many years,” said Matloga. “I worked with SAFA as a development coach for about five years, and at Benny's Care Sports Academy where I was head coach.”

The Greenway Sports Academy was initiated in 2015 with the idea to identify young boys from different parts of the country and give them an opportunity to learn life skills and receive football training. The academy also partners with different primary and secondary schools in a bid to provide their young stars with valuable education.

“I had a dream of using new ways to empower young people and turn them into great sportsmen, so I had to move out of all previous associations where I was an employee and focus on implementing my ideas,” he said. “Those ideas, infused with hard work and determination, are bearing fruits.”

“We are generally preparing ourselves for the upcoming annual competitions which include, among others, Danone Nations Cup (U/12), McDonald’s Under14 School’s League, Copa Coca Cola (U/15) and K Motsepe (U/19). We are also preparing for the Makhado Football Association’s league matches.”

Greenway Sports Academy had so far represented the province in various national competitions held in different provinces. “In 2016, we went to the national tournament in the Copa Coca Cola league with our partner in sports, Haggai Independent School, and ended in fifth position with our U/15 team,” he said. “In 2017 we played in the Danone Nations Cup and finished third on national level. In the K Motsepe event, we finished third and received a R500 000 cash prize.”

Matloga would like to see most of the boys playing in the local teams such as Black Leopards, Baroka FC, Polokwane City and Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila, before they could be signed by other teams outside the province. “We want to see local teams benefiting from the excellent talent from the academy,” he said.

Date:21 April 2018

By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

Read: 2366