Spurs players take part in successful national team camp

Four Cape Town Spurs starlets were part of a recent national team camp at the SAFA Technical Centre, which has been deemed a success.

There were 40 young players who attended the South African men’s national team Under-17 selection camp in the South of Johannesburg last week.

Aqeel Hess, Shaqeel Edries, Noah Hempe and Lincoln Daniels were the four players who represented the Urban Warriors in the camp.

The camp served as a strategic initiative to nurture young talent, ensuring the country’s sustained competitiveness on the global football stage, while also fostering skills development and the selection camp reinforced national unity, and identity. 

“You are always looking for players to embrace each other, even though they come from different teams, to show respect to each other, and to come on time when we have team events and meetings,” coach David Nyathi told SAFA media. 

“They come on time, the dress code is looking proper, and on the field, there is fair play. You don’t see violent conduct on the field, you see the players in a manner that shows that they are not intentionally trying to hurt each other.

“Every stage, you learn something that might help you accelerate your development, so these are moments where some are privileged to have a national team camp,” the former Cape Town Spurs academy coach added. 

“They have got the best facilities, the best experts around them and the best training environments – this changes your life completely and gives you a different perspective and might give you motivation to proceed.”

The primary mission of the U17 selection camp was to identify and nurture young footballers born between 2009 and 2010, preparing them to represent South Africa in the 2026 international competitions according to the FIFA squad cycle.