After a laborious season in our development program, we have finally come to an end of our activities at grassroots level, and i am quite relieved to be able to sum up the development of our players as positive.

A few months ago we conducted trials across the country, a gesture that we do every year in which we get kids who never had the opportunity to play football in a big club, come to show us that they have what it takes to be with Orlando Pirates football club.

I have to say that we had a positive balance during these trials. Twelve new players were scouted and roped into our development structures, where they will be moulded and transformed into professional footballers. Of course, part of this process will depend on the interest and keenness of the player and their families, with whom we hope to work close-with, so that we may be able to assist the player achieve his full potential and dream of becoming a professional footballer.

As a progressive organisation, Orlando Pirates FC development structures will be implementing new working methods in the 2010/2011 season, as part of our innovative and creative ways of wanting to do things for the improvement of grassroots football in South Africa.

This season, we have released some players who could not cope up with the demanding obligations and rules set up by our administration, and unfortunately we had to release the boys and bring in other ones who may also try to show us that they have what it takes to succeed here.

This (the release of the players) in no way means that those players were bad boys, but maybe the environment and our style of disciplining and teaching our players, did not suit their ideology or way of living and thinking. This is understandable because we are in a society with a diversified culture and costumes. But in football there are norms, rules and certain codes of conduct, which everyone is obliged to live with.

Our campaign in the SAFA Soweto league was quite good, with some boys rising above expectations, thus making us proud to continue with our work. The Under13 team had a splendid run in their category, and despite finishing the league in the top spot, what makes us to rejoice is that we could identify talents in that crop of players, with whom we will be pleased to work with in the coming season.

They will be playing at another level next year, and it is important that we teach them accordingly. Coach Mandla Qoqhi (Under13) and Sibusiso Masoka (Under15) did very well in ensuring that their teams held very high the prestige and reputation of Orlando Pirates Football club. These two categories are made up of players who have been together for more than three years, and it is good to see that they have been consistent.

Still this year, we went to England where we took part of the Manchester United Premier Cup, and we came back with our player Sakhile Ngubo being named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

This is the second time that we have one of our players being named MVP of that prestigious event. The first was Cyril Mashego in 2006 and this year it was Sakhile. This is good for the club, because it gives reputation and credibility to what we have been doing in our development program.

Another thing that made us very happy was the call ups that most of our players received to represent the national Under17 and Under20 team. This makes us very proud. It is painful when a person works and does not see the fruits of his work and for us to be rewarded with our players’ call ups, shows that we are heading in the right direction. Part of our success has to be attributed to our unique method of developing our own strategies of work, and also to our willingness to achieve success at the end of every year.

We have been privileged to have around us a group of well qualified coaches, who have been working hard with our boys.

I want to end today’s piece by thanking everybody that tirelessly worked with us this season. From our kit managers, to the administrators and the media guys at the club, the drivers and everyone else who has been with us, I want to say thank you.

Lastly I want to tell you Bucs followers, that we have Mduduzi Nyanda training with the senior team. He is another exciting product of our development program, and we are very happy for him.

Until next week.

Professor Augusto Palacios