Swansea City Under-19s Metropolitan Premier Cup Cape Town
24th March
Swansea City Under-19s kick-off their first game in the Metropolitan Premier Cup in South Africa on Thursday (4.45pm UK time).
The young Swans begin the tournament in Group G of the competition against local Cape Town side PPG Langa before games against Glenwegians FC and Stephanian Ottery on Friday and Saturday.
The U19s bowed out during the knock-out stage of the cup last season but coach Chris Llewellyn believes the young side can go further this year.
"We are all really excited and looking forward to getting underway," he said. "We have come here to challenge some of the best young teams in South Africa.
"It is going to be a tough test but it gives us a great opportunity to play against a different brand of football. Conditions mean we will have to adapt our style but it all adds to the learning process.
"The next week is going to be a valuable learning experience on and off the field."
Due to international call-ups over the Easter period, the Swans squad includes six U16 players.
Despite travelling with a young squad, Llewellyn believes the challenge of an U19s tournament can only benefit the academy's younger players.
"It is a young squad made up of a mix of U18s and U16s," he added. "But we have some exciting and talented players.
"The sooner we can blood a younger group of players into the U18s the better it is for their development ahead of next season.
"The team are bonding really well and Eric (Ramsay) and I want that togetherness and team spirit to show in our games.
"We have trained hard since arriving and managed to see some sights Cape Town has to offer, but we put that to one side now and look forward to our first game."
Swans Under-19s Squad (from): Lewis Thomas, Ross Treacy, Joe Rodon, Matthew Blake, Aaron Lewis, Ben Morgan, Mael Davies, Brandon Griffiths, Jack Evans, Causso Darame, Jack Watts, Matt Roberts, Joe Lewis, Finlay Hazel, Ben Cobango, Thomas Price, Tom Dyson, Jordan Jones, Jordan Garrick, Connor Quigley
Follow the Swans progress on our website and via twitter @SwansOfficial, @swans_academy using the #SwansCapeTown hashtag
