GEORGE NEWS - George u.15 boys lost 0(5)-0(4) against Riversdale u.15 in the final of the regional FNB Football First Development Festival last Saturday.
The game, that took place at the Lawaaikamp Stadium, was hard-fought, ending on a 0-0 draw, and the regional champions had to be determined with a penalty shoot-out.
Six local football associations participated in the regional event: George (the host), Mossel Bay, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Riversdale and Oudtshoorn.
In the semi-finals, George defeated Mossel Bay 1-0, while Riversdale knocked out Knysna 4-2 to go through to the final.
It was the first time in many years that Riversdale claimed the FNB Football First title.
In the girls category, Mossel Bay retained their title after sinking Knysna with a score of 4-2.
FNB Football First Festival
The football festival was founded as a legacy project following FNB's involvement in the 2010 Fifa World Cup to develop the football skills of boys and girls under 15.
The young players are trained by coaches who are selected in collaboration with the South African Football Association (Safa) and they undergo annual refresher courses to maintain and develop their football skills. FNB invested R15m to build five artificial football pitches in rural areas in South Africa.
The development programme has been improving each year and now has more than 30 000 young players from five regions in South Africa participating.The regions are George, Thohoyandou, Mthatha, Pietermaritzburg and Kimberley. FNB team selectors identify 20 boys and 20 girls in each region.
The national Football First Development Festival will take place in Johannesburg during the September/October school holidays.
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