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Nike gives Cape Town’s football hopefuls another opportunity with ‘The Chance’

Nike returns to Cape Town in search of the best young footballers to represent South Africa at the Nike Academy trials in the United Kingdom

Nike’s youth football programme, The Chance, is a global search for talented footballers to get an opportunity to join the Nike Academy, a high performance training programme, supported by the English Premier League, in the United Kingdom.

Locally, Nike set out its search for South Africa’s top young guns in August, with trials already conducted in Johannesburg, and Cape Town.  However, the interest from youngsters in Cape Town has increased, and Nike will host a second round of trials for those players who did not get a chance to register in August.

Already more than 300 hopefuls aged 16 and 17 years joined The Chance South Africa trials with football legends-turned-pro-coaches Shaun Bartlett, Eric Tinkler and Tebogo Moloi heading up the scouting.

Nike will be rolling out their final leg of the trials in Durban at the end of September.  The player’s who make the grade and get noticed during the regional trials, will be called back for the final trial in Johannesburg.  Only four South African players have the chance to slot into the best 100 players from across 40 countries, to join Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger at the UK trials in January 2011, to compete for one of eight international places in the Nike Academy.  These eight will have all their expenses paid to live in the UK for a year starting in July 2011 and be a full time member of the Nike Academy.

As members of the Nike Academy, players become full-time participants at a residential training centre in England with access to elite coaches, nutritionists, psychologists and fitness conditioners, along with world class facilities to perform at the highest level.

Date:  Sunday, 12 September 2010
Time: 8am until 4pm
Venue: Old Mutual Academy, Mutual Park, Jan Smuts Drive, Pinelands

Bongani Mthembu’s strength, tackling ability and willingness to run down the line makes him a tough defensive opponent and an attacking threat from the back.

To find out more about The Chance check out the feature TRW did here: or visit: http://go.nike.com/TheNoticed

When the competition is relentless as it was at the trials, it’s vital to keep a cool head to perform. Simanga Mthembu’s football brain and close control ensured he kept his.

To find out more about The Chance check out the feature TRW did here: or visit: http://go.nike.com/TheNoticed

There have been so many new recruits (especially at the likes of Manchester City) but we have chosen just 11 who think have the potential to really make an impact at their clubs.

Stipe Pletikosa

Tottenham Hotspur have brought in experienced Croatian goal-keeper Stipe Pletikosa on loan from Spartak Moscow. The 31 year old will provide good competition for Gomes and Cudicini. Pletikosa will join up with a Spurs team who already boast three Croatians in; Luka Modric, Niko Kranjcar and Vedran Corluka.

Marcos Alonso

Marcos Alonso joined Bolton Wanderers after having been part of Real Madrid since he was a kid. Well at just 19 you could say he is still a kid… The young defender can play left back or left wing. We could possibly have another Gareth Bale on our hands. The Spaniard likes to press forward and could add an exciting attacking dimension to Bolton.

Jerome Boateng

At TRW, we are big fans of Jerome’s half brother Kevin-Prince. Although KP saw his Portsmouth side get relegated last season, the midfielder’s form was impressive. Jerome had a good World Cup with Germany and now we hope to see his ability shine through in the Premier League just like his brother.

Laurent Koscielny

Arsene Wenger enjoys young French players and seems to have found another rising French star. (Perhaps he should take the job of French National coach.) Laurent Koscielny arrives at Arsenal with a real chance to impress. Two older French defenders were let go by Arsenal at the end of last season. William Gallas and Mikael Silvestre’s departures have paved the way for Koscielny to establish himself at the heart of Arsenal’s defense.

James Perch

James Perch is a name Premier League fans won’t be familiar with, but those avid League One fans will. Perch has played 190 games for Nottingham Forest and now gets his chance to impress at the highest level with Newcastle. Still just 24 years of age, Perch can play almost anywhere across the back and in midfield. He reminds us a little of John O’Shea. The question is whether or not he will hold down a spot in the starting 11 or be a bench-warming jack of all trades.

Hatem Ben Arfa

Another Newcastle recruit, Ben Arfa has promised a lot for a while now but has yet to really realize his potential. Ben Arfa made 60 appearances for both Lyon and Marseille. Now the young French winger has a chance to impress in the Premier League.

Raul Meireles

Liverpool have lost Xavi Alonso and Javier Mascherano in the last two seasons. The purchase of Aquilani seems to have been deemed a failure so Reds fans will be hoping for some better performances from Raul Meireles. The Portuguese midfielder impressed at the World Cup playing in every match for Portugal. He could be the Gerrard complementing midfielder Liverpool have been looking for.

Rafael van der Vaart

We think that Harry Redknapp has pulled another rabbit out the bag. Just a few days ago Harry said he needed another Modric and we agreed. Well, we think he has got his man. The deadline day coup from Real Madrid came at a bargain price. Van der Vaart is a brilliant passer and technically gifted player. We look forward to seeing the impact he can make in the Premier League.

Jermaine Pennant

So this could be a little bit of a cheat. Pennant has been in the Premier League before. The ex-Arsenal and Liverpool winger has been in Spain playing with Real Zaragoza and now has an opportunity to prove that he has what it takes to be successful in the Premier League. Stoke have done some good business in the transfer window but Pennant is the one we are most excited about.

Asamoah Gyan

There are so many forwards we could have chosen in our Transfer XI but after his fine display at the World Cup, we couldn’t leave out Asamoah Gyan. Gyan is only 24 and has a bright and promising future ahead of him. Sunderland boss Steve Bruce has done a lot of shopping in the attacking department and Gyan is the crown of his purchases. African stars are becoming more and more sought after and we think Gyan can have as big an impact as some of his fellow Africans such as Drogba and Essien.

Marouane Chamakh

Marouane Chamakh came to Arsenal on free transfer. What a bargain! The Moroccan forward was prolific for Bordeaux and has looked a real threat for Arsenal in the three Premier League games he has played. Robin van Persie is a brilliant footballer but Arsenal have suffered because of his injury problems. Chamakh has the potential to step into the Dutchman’s shoes and perhaps even become Arsenal’s number one striker.

Dr Rohlmann studied sales in the period 2005 to 2009 to get an accurate long-term picture, and found that the leading two clubs sold, on average, 1.2m to 1.5m shirts per year each. These clubs were Manchester United (Nike’s best seller) and Real Madrid (Adidas’s best seller).

But even that does not tell the full merchandise story, because although Liverpool were found to Adidas’s No2 shirt seller behind Real (with 700,000 to 900,000 shirts sold per year), Liverpool are understood to be ahead of Real in overall merchandise sales for Adidas, according to industry sources. In this instance “overall merchandise” means not just the sale of shirts (which is what Dr Rohlmann measured), but other kit, boots, tracksuits and other clothing, bags and even club-branded balls.

And Liverpool’s commercial director, Ian Ayre, has told this website that Liverpool are Adidas’s top-selling team in overall merchandise terms. “It is clear that we are Adidas’s highest selling football club – Adidas advised us we were their highest selling club,” Ayre says.

Arsenal and Chelsea, in that order, follow on the heels of United, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool in shirt sales, meaning the Premier League has more teams (four) in the top 10 “shirts sales league” than any other country.

Italy is the next best-performing league with three Serie A clubs: Milan, Inter and Juventus.

Coincidentally, all the top 10 sellers are the same 10 clubs who currently constitute the “biggest”, richest clubs (by earnings) in the world, according to the latest survey by Deloitte.

Dr Rohlmann said: “The figures encompass the whole replica sales volume of shirts, ie home, away and the third or further editions in total, either sold by the clubs themselves or by other parties such as high street shops.”

There are a number of reasons for the popularity of Premier League teams, including the coverage and popularity of the Premier League and the European successes enjoyed in recent seasons. All of the League’s ‘Big four’ have appeared in at least one Champions League final in the last five years.

Dr Rohlmann’s research focused on the clubs within the major leagues of Europe but also looked at big clubs in small leagues to see how they fare. None of those clubs would, over an extended period of time, match the sales of the top 10 listed today.

The biggest clubs in Turkey, namely Galatasaray and Fenerbahce (both Adidas clubs) would sell numbers at the lower end of the 10 in good years but sales of official merchandise in some regions, including Turkey and especially Asia, tend to be damaged by cheaper counterfeit goods.

A “big” club like Ajax in a “small” league like the Dutch league might expect to sell 100,000 shirts and probably fewer in most seasons. Celtic (a Nike club) are believed to be the biggest sellers among Scotland’s clubs, with “good year” sales at the lower end of the  top 10, ie: several hundred thousand per year, many of them overseas in North America, Canada and Australia.

Dr Rohlmann says: “Because of the fact that most of the clubs and the kit suppliers do not publish their shirt sales, you have to analyse information over a longer period to find reliable data. Our research encompass the period from 2005 to 2009.’

“Oscillations are normal because any sporting success or lack of success drives shirt sales, sometimes up, sometimes down, as does the acquisition or sale of particular stars.

“For example, look to Olympique Marseille. Their average shirt sales over the last five seasons is about 350,000 replicas per year. But if you refer exclusively to 2009-10, when they won the French championship, adidas sold nearly 500,000.”

PUMA have been the official kit supplier for Spurs since 2006 and have designed three great kits for Spurs’ upcoming season. PUMA’s promotional campaign centers around the clubs famous chant of “When The Spurs Go Marching In” as they invite fans to “Be In That Number” by wearing the new kit. To celebrate Spurs’ qualification for the UEFA Champions League, PUMA and TRW gave you an opportunity to ‘be in that number’ by giving away an official Spurs replica jersey.

Congratulations to Cuan George who has won himself a new Spurs home jersey thanks to Puma and TRW!

Umbro presents England’s future stars wearing England’s new home shirt.
The portrait of modern England. Tailored by Umbro.

England begin their attempt to rectify their poor World Cup showing by qualifying strongly for Euro 2012. Umbro have unveiled the new England home shirt to be worn for the upcoming 2010-2012 season.

Some of the country’s most talented younger players have been used to promote the new jersey with the likes of Rooney, Walcott, Adam Johnson, Joe Hart and Jack Wilshire lining up for the promotional images. We wonder how many of these young stars will be England regulars come the start of Euro 2012.

The new England jersey is once again ‘Tailored by Umbro’ and features a wider neckline – very similar to that used on the England away shirt – opposed to the previous home jersey’s polo collar. The most stand-out feature however is the new multicoloured shoulder panels. The shirt features dozens of tiny St Georges’ Crosses in a multitude of different colours on the shoulder panels.

This was the idea of legendary pop-artist Peter Saville who designed the new jersey. His explanation is that this design encapsulates the diversity of modern England. With players from a multitude of different heritages pulling on the new England Shirt, Saville believes this is a chance to represent the modern England and celebrate it’s variety of cultures, dispelling the myth that England is a nation comprised of people ‘sitting in pubs, drinking ale and eating roast beef’.

The home kit is rounded off with royal blue shorts – which deviates from last years’ all white kit. Umbro and England’s previous designs have relied heavily on darker navy blues, so a brighter blue is an interesting change. Umbro have also changed their logo from red to a royal blue colour to match the famous Three Lions on the badge.

The goal keepers will wear an all black kit, accented by the bright purple piping. The cut is very innovative on both the Home jersey and keeper’s jersey and that really comes through with the piping.

We also like the new ‘Anthem Jacket’ Umbro have created for fans.

We think the new Ladies goal keeper jersey is rather striking. In fact David James would probably look at home in this. He wore a similar colour last season for Portsmouth.

The full range of the England kit including the Anthem Jersey and Ladies Keeper jersey is available to buy from October the 12th 2010. The new kit will debut against Bulgaria this Friday the 3rd of September in England’s first Euro 2012 qualifier!

Exploring the concept behind his New Fabric Of England patterns, iconic graphic designer Peter Saville talks briefly about the idea that inspired it.

You can read more about the graphic at http://www.umbro.com

Tottenham Hotspur will rub shoulders with Europe’s elite club teams for the first time since 1961/62. Tottenham will make their first ever appearance in the competitions’ current format; the UEFA Champions League after defeating Swiss side; Young Boys.

Spurs, under Harry Redknapp, fought their way to 4^th place in the Premier League last season to earn a shot at qualifying for the group stage of the competition. After being 3-0 down after half an hour in the first leg of the tie, Spurs looked to have fluffed their lines but a great come-back and hat-trick from Peter Crouch at White Heart Lane saw Spurs gain a spot in the lucrative competition.

PUMA have been the official kit supplier for Spurs since 2006 and have designed three great kits for Spurs’ upcoming season. PUMA’s promotional campaign centers around the clubs famous chant of “When The Spurs Go Marching In” as they invite fans to “Be In That Number” by wearing the new kit. To celebrate Spurs’ achievement, PUMA and TRW are giving you an opportunity to ‘be in that number’ by giving away an official Spurs replica jersey.

To win a replica jersey all you have to do is answer this simple question: Which boots was hat-trick hero Peter Crouch wearing in the second-leg of Spurs’ UEFA Champions League qualifier at White Heart Lane.

Email your name, contact details and answer to info@therightwinger.co.za

Terms and Conditions:

- The prize winner will be announced on Tuesday 7 September 2010.
- The prize is not transferable for cash.
- This competition is only open to residents of South Africa.
- This competition is not open to employees or contractors of PUMA or The Right Winger.
- The prize will be awarded to the first name drawn at random from all complete entries received giving the correct answer. The winners will be notified by e-mail within 3 days. The judges decision will be final.
- By entering this promotion, entrants are agreeing to abide by these terms and conditions.