Two Grahamstown soccer-playing girls have been selected to take part in the national women's U17 soccer training camp. Zikhona Dastile (Ntsika Secondary School) and Nwabisa Jafta (TEM Mrwetyana Secondary School), both aged 15, spent the weekend training with other selected players.
Two Grahamstown soccer-playing girls have been selected to take part in the national women's U17 soccer training camp. Zikhona Dastile (Ntsika Secondary School) and Nwabisa Jafta (TEM Mrwetyana Secondary School), both aged 15, spent the weekend training with other selected players.
The two are members of Grahamstown's only women's soccer side, African Connection. It was during the side's play-offs, after winning their section of the Absa league last season, that the girls were spotted by a national U17 soccer scout.
African Connection coach, Chris Totobela, said he was extremely proud of the players, who had leapt straight from club soccer directly to the national team, skipping Eastern Province selection. Totobela said while many of his players had been selected for various EP sides, this was the first national call-up.
Dastile, delighted, said while she had trained hard with her team, the selection had come as a huge surprise. She said this was the first step in the right direction, as her long-term goal was to play in the national soccer side. Dastile said she would be playing her normal game, but “try to add a bit more effort”, as it had been from her normal play that she was selected.
Jafta said she was “very happy”, because just being able to train with the U17s was an achievement. Jafta said she, too, would play her normal game, but would “try my best". "I will be among the best in the country,” said Jafta, who said she would pay attention to the advice she received and use it.
Totobela said he considered it a big achievement for him to have players selected for the training camp. The two were expected back in Grahamstown late yesterday, and he was holding thumbs that they would return with the news that they had made the U17 team.
