Bayview Football Club, a long-time TygerBurger partner, launched the inaugural Bayview Youth Cup at Mondale High School on Monday 15 June, as the club also marked 21 years in the game.

Emcee and junior coach Denzel Swarts noted the significance of the date.

“This is the fifteenth year of this tournament and we are celebrating it on the fifteenth day of June,” he said. “And it’s an u-16 cup.”

Bayview FC chair Mark Rodriguez told guests the youth cup had modest beginnings.

“This Youth Cup started fifteen years ago with three clubs joining forces,” he said.

This year’s edition will draw 80 participating clubs, approximately 1 440 footballers and their technical staff, along with an international club from Namibia.

As a special gesture to mark the anniversary, Bayview FC’s executive has selected 20 players, along with a coach and manager, to serve as a curtain raiser at Athlone Stadium, with SAFA scouts on hand to assess the players.

“If you get the call-up, be proud,” Rodriguez told the young players. “It is something most people won’t get in a lifetime — to play in a stadium.”

Reflections

Bayview FC executive members Eben and Petra Loff paid tribute to Rodriguez at the ceremony.

“Mark, you’ve been more than a chairman — a coach, manager, you’ve been a father, confidant, taxi driver, sponsor, and many other things,” Petra Loff said.

She reflected on what the tournament represented. “Fifteen years of giving young players from Mitchells Plain and beyond a stage to shine, 20 of service — thank you for your commitment when no one was watching. Thank you for proving that one person’s love can build a legacy that will last for generations.”

SAFA Cape Town treasurer Sadick Williams praised the organisers and placed the tournament in the broader context of football development in South Africa.

“Football remains the most important sport in our country. It unites communities and provides young people with positive outlets through which they can develop discipline and leadership skills,” he said.

Williams said that the tournament carried value beyond the game.

“Your investment in youth football is not really an investment in sport — it is an investment in social development,” he said, commending the organising team, volunteers, parents, sponsors, partners and local council.

Bayview FC presented certificates of acknowledgement to three of its long-time supporters: media partner TygerBurger, Mitchells Plain Local Football Association president Ricky Meyer, and ward councillor Elton Jansen.

The evening ended with a draw for the upcoming tournament.

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