Coach Brook Ntokozo and South Africa prepare for a big year

The Power Horse Beach Soccer African Trophy Durban 2015 (March 6-8) highlights the beginning of a productive season for South African beach soccer

South Africa’s head coach, Brook Ntokozo, has been diligently working since being informally introduced to beach soccer in 2003, to build a program he can be proud. At this moment, that is exactly what the coach is feeling. He is the perfect man for the job as he was formally trained, along with other South African players and personnel, by FIFA Instructor and Asian Beach Soccer champion Marcelo Mendes in 2006. The team has come a long way since 2006 and, now, Brook and the Bafana Bafana are currently preparing for the Power Horse Beach Soccer African Trophy Durban 2015 set to take place from the 6^th-8^th of March, which they are hosting and which will give them the chance to take on the best sides in the continent.  Approximately one month later, the South African National side will be fighting for a berth in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Portugal 2015, with the CAF Qualifier taking place in Seychelles. 

There have been ups-and-downs for South African beach soccer but under the direction of their coach, things look to be pointing up as the 54 million-person country will be united in just a few short weeks, under the umbrella of beach soccer of course. “We are all very excited for this event as we will be forming and showing one culture to the world”, stated Ntokozo as he proudly discussed the bright future for his team and country. The event will gather eight nations from Africa and will show the world how high the quality of African beach soccer has become. The South African coach believes this is the perfect opportunity to showcase that fact, with the biggest year for beach soccer all over the globe already under way. 

Brook Ntokozo continued by saying, “Have I been surprised by the team? Of course, and in a good way. The players from inland, where there are no lakes or an ocean, have really outdone themselves. We invited many of them to our training sessions to spread the word and maybe develop a few but they had great character and skill already.” That kind of natural ability will help carry South Africa to where it needs to go, especially with the prospect of a national league starting up, which will surely increase awareness and skill sets for players all over the country. 

Expectations may be high for the 2015 season but the coach wanted the fans to first know, “We are extremely grateful for these opportunities and while we have learned so much since 2006, there is a lot more left to learn and I believe the biggest thing right now is getting the players on the big stage, such as the Power Horse African Trophy.” His team will be the number one seed in the playoff format tournament and they will first take on the eight seed, Seychelles, who will be playing in their first international event, in hopes of delighting the home crowd.