Three-time CAF Champions League winning coach, Pitso Mosimane was full of praise for Engen who for the last two decades have ploughed back into the South African society, particularly the football fraternity, where it has provided a platform for young stars to go on and represent the national team.
Mosimane attended the Engen Knockout Challenge Johannesburg leg where Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns were crowned Gauteng champions in the men’s and women’s competitions respectively.
The 59-year-old, who for the last two years, ventured into youth football himself through the Pitso Mosimane Soccer Schools, in collaboration with Curro Holdings, expressed his delight at the level of talent on display at the tournament, as well as Engen’s continued support to the initiative over the last 20 years.
“Engen have shown that they appreciate their patrons and shown that they care,” Mosimane said.
“By being here, it means they say all these parents who are putting petrol at their garages, they can show that we care. We support because football is a social part of our lives,” he explained.
The impeccable record of players produced by the tournament continues to grow, with the latest graduate Relebohile Mofokeng, who was named the 2022 Engen Knockout Challenge Player of the Tournament, recently made his Bafana Bafana debut at a FIFA World Cup qualifier.
Mosimane has called on other corporates to follow in the footsteps of Engen in ploughing back to the communities in which they operate, by enriching their lives both on and off the field.
“There are a number of players who played for the national team, so that shows how important this these tournaments like Engen are to put things together,” he said.
“Engen is doing an exceptional job. I hope other cooperates show that they can [do the same]. And I know everybody supports because the government says everybody must have a CSI programme. I agree with that and also ourselves in football, let’s organise ourselves right, so that the people must believe in the product. So that we can have more exposure, more players, the best, better tournaments, better media coverage that Europe must know, ‘hey, there’s a tournament in South Africa, it’s called the Engen tournament. If you want to see the best of the ladies under 17 or boys under. 18 The creme de la creme is here,” he added.
