Live stream: Craig Goodwin, Carl Veart among stars to play in South Australia Junior Soccer Association Championships
It has been the starting point of some of South Australia’s top footballers, and with talent scouts out in force, could we discover the next hidden gem or two? Catch the action from Saturday.
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The tournament has produced the likes of Socceroos World Cup hero Craig Goodwin as well as state football icons Richie Alagich and Carl Veart.
It’s a high bar to hit, but could this year’s crop of talent at the South Australia Junior Soccer Association Championships be part of the next generation of exciting footballing talents? There will be plenty of talent scouts on hand to find out.
The three-day extravaganza takes over the Football SA centre of football in Adelaide over the long weekend.
The Championships, which features the best young talents from across regional South Australia, run for three days from Saturday, with KommunityTV live streaming all the action from Pitch 5 in the seniors and Pitch A in the juniors.
WATCH THE ACTION FROM THE SAJSA CHAMPIONSHIPS LIVE AT THIS LINK
While it has changed format from the early years of the event, there’s still no doubt it has produced some of the state’s top round ball exports.
And the hunt will be on for the next cohort with Football SA talent experts Jake Brindley and Cristiano on the sidelines scouting for the next Goodwin.
“Every year FSA sends out their development officers and talent scouts,” SAJSA tournament director Ray Matthews said.
“They come out and mark up names for future elite development and they select players from the state championships to join those elite training squads.”
It is an opportunity for the young athletes of the regions, some as far as Roxby Downs in the far north of the state and Broken Hill just over the NSW border, to press their case in front of the state’s top scouts.
It is also an opportunity for many of them to play on elite hybrid pitches for the first time in their junior sporting career.
Matthews said the tournament provided plenty of amazing moments, but none more so than the enjoyment he witnesses each and every year.
“The look on their faces when we get to presentations on a Monday afternoon is the part I look forward to most, just that happiness,” he said.
“The younger ones are over the moon to be competing at that level. The fact they are recognised as being in a state championship, whether they win or lose, they are just happy and proud to be there.
“These kids are the elite of the elite in their association. They have been selected to represent their region, and they do it with pride.”
Check out our weekend live stream schedule below.
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