MOGAMAD ALLIE: Bayhill tournament gives talent a chance to shine

When Easter comes around in Cape Town, soccer fans, coaches and scouts from all over the country have only one thing on their minds — casting their eyes over the next generation of stars showcasing their talent at the annual Bayhill Premier Cup tournament.  

The under-19 competition, started in 1989 by a group of committed football enthusiasts from the Mitchells Plain-based Bayhill FC, delivered the goods again this year as a crowd of 12,000 — what lots of PSL clubs would give to attract those numbers — turned out to watch modest Grassy Park United FC defeat defending champions and six-time winners Cape Town Spurs 2-1 in Monday’s final at Athlone Stadium. 

Such is the level of interest and enthusiasm for a tournament that easily attracts more than 75,000 spectators over the five days of a competition played at Erica Park in the northern suburbs of Belhar that the organisers opted to move this year’s final to Athlone Stadium to accommodate the numbers.  

It’s a credit to the strength of the brand and the superb level of organisation that the Bayhill, as the tournament is affectionately known, has been able to bounce back with renewed vigour after cancellations due to the drought in Cape Town in 2018 — when Day Zero was a real possibility — and the Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.  

The great thing about this year’s tournament, according to Boebie Solomons, Safa Western Cape’s technical director of coaching, is how much the standard of coaching and quality of football has improved over the past few years.   

“Coaches are learning at courses and implementing in their communities. We saw good, structured and intelligent football at this year’s tournament. It was also great to see the gap closing between the community teams and the better resourced academies. Football is on the up, especially in Cape Town,” said Solomons, who starred in a high quality Cape Town Spurs side in the 1970s in the old Federation Professional League.  

The Bayhill success is a tribute to the resilience of Grassy Park United, who changed their name from Crusaders FC (formed in 1942) nine years ago in an effort to attract wider support from the community. The dangers of gangsterism, however, forced the team to move their training base 5km away to the historic William Herbert sports ground in Wynberg due to regular gunfire traded by opposing gangs.  

It speaks volumes for a club whose senior team campaigns in the regional ABC Motsepe League, the third-tier of SA football, that they were able to beat five-time champions Hellenic and SuperSport United in the quarterfinals and semifinals before overcoming Cape Town Spurs (formerly Ajax Cape Town) 2-1 in a tense final. It’s worth bearing in mind that these clubs have well-resourced academies, highly qualified coaches and the cream of the country’s young talent, hand-picked by a network of scouts.  

Considering the tremendous odds stacked against them, it’s wonderful to see a team comprising ambitious and talented young boys from gang-infested areas such as Grassy Park, neighbouring Parkwood, Steenberg and even Mitchells Plain being given the opportunity to rise above their challenging circumstances to compete against and beat some of the best youth teams in the country.  

Remember, the competition also included the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns, Cape Town City, Stellenbosch, University of Pretoria and Highlands Park.  

Interestingly, the Grassy Park United Under-19 team is coached by Rezaan Jacobs, who grew up in the area. They also have Keegan Hunt, daughter of SuperSport United mentor Gavin Hunt, serving as assistant coach and physio.  

The 25-year-old Hunt, who has a Caf D coaching certificate, has football oozing through her blood and genes. In addition to her title-winning dad, she’s the granddaughter of former England international Budgie Byrne and niece of David and the late Mark Byrne, both of whom starred for Hellenic in the 1990s and early 2000s. 

“I’m happy that the management put a great deal of faith in me by giving me responsibility to prepare the set pieces. I’m even more chuffed that both our goals in the final came from set pieces,” said Hunt.    

The Bayhill, which has previously featured teams from Swansea City and a schools side from Manchester, is well known as a rich hunting ground for scouts on the lookout for talent. In the past players such as Benni McCarthy, Steven Pienaar, Percy Tau, Lance Davids, Thulani Serero, Nasief Morris, Aaron Mokoena, Matthew Booth, Teboho Mokoena, Sipho Mbule and, more recently, Rushine de Reuck and Fagrie Lakay all played at the tournament before going on to represent Bafana Bafana.  

If anything, the tournament highlights the importance of sport in producing social cohesion, particularly in poorer areas where the discipline and organisation provided by an organised environment can play a key role. In addition, it also has the potential to produce role models, as those who have gone on to play with distinction for top professional clubs have proven. 

For those talented young footballers with ambitions to play at the highest level, the Bayhill also provides a great shop window for them to display their talent and gain the valuable experience of playing in front of big crowds.