Table View FC from Cape Town is making a name for itself, not just
locally, but over 14,000 kilometres away in Dallas in the United States.
In 2025, the community club will be making its fourth appearance at the Dallas Cup, one of the most
prestigious youth soccer tournaments in the world.
The club will be sending two teams to compete at U15 and U17 age groups. Teams confirmed for
2025 include the likes of Newcastle United from the UK, Real Madrid from Spain, Botofoga and Sao
Paulo from Brazil and Eintracht Frankfurt from Germany, to name a few.
In previous years, Manchester United, Liverpool, Fulham and Arsenal, all from England, Tigres from
Mexico, and Boca Juniors from Argentina, have all attended the Dallas Cup. These, along with top
qualifying academy teams from the US, make the tournament one of the toughest in the world.
The participating American teams are the cream of the crop, with only top division teams who have
won their respective leagues being able to apply to participate in the tournament. And even though
these USA teams are league winners in their respective districts, their inclusion into the Dallas Cup is
by means guaranteed. Last year more than 50% teams that applied to participate in the Dallas Cup,
were rejected.
Craig Barrows, one of the organisers from Table View and someone who is prepping for his 5th
overall visit to the Dallas Cup, said: “Our teams are competing against some of the very best
academies in the world. This also includes only the very best teams in the US and the level of
competition is exceptionally high.”
According to Barrows, the Dallas Cup is different to most other youth tournaments globally in that it
is by invite only. To date, only two teams from South Africa have ever managed to secure an invite
and Barrows said Table View FC, as a community club from South Africa, was determined to build on
the foundations laid.
“We are a very multi-cultural club, drawing players from a range of very diverse backgrounds,
including elsewhere in Africa,” he said.
“The first two tournaments were such an eye-opener for all of us, as coaches, players, support staff
and some of the parents who made the trip,” he added. “The sheer scale of the event, walking out
into a stadium in front of thousands of spectators and side by side with players from some of the
most well-known football clubs in the world. It was simply overwhelming.”
The Dallas Cup is limited to 32 teams per age group and the format is simple and unforgiving. Only
the first-placed sides in each group make it through to the next round. Second-place finishes don’t
count and there is no Plate section for losers, “so you are on your way home if you don’t win your
group”.
Barrows said that in the past two years, their U18 and U13 teams won their respective groups and
qualified for the knockout stages of the tournament. “This was a massive achievement for us as a
club and a team representing South Africa and we are looking to build on this success with the 2025
teams.”
“People have no idea of the exceptionally high standard of youth football in the US and this is only
going to heighten even more in the build-up to the 2026 World Cup which is being held in Mexico,
the US and Canada.”
Table View has been the invited back to the Dallas Cup each year since 2022 and Barrows said this
was a wonderful football, as well as life experience, for young people, and not just from Table View
FC.
“As a club, we scout and invite players from the surrounding areas and even further afield in Cape
Town to represent Table View FC at the Dallas Cup.
Another major attraction of the Dallas Cup is the homestay programme which the tournament offers
to international teams. International players are invited into the homes of soccer parents whose son
or daughter is also competing in the tournament. This was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the
tournament for those players who have gone previously.
“Our players get to spend 10 days with these host families,” Barrows added. “It is truly an
overwhelming and humbling experience for our players.”
A major part of this ambitious adventure is to provide opportunities for underprivileged players.
Barrows cited the example of Liyema Bobotyane from Mbekweni in Paarl, who in 2023 joined the
Dallas-bound Table View team only six weeks before the tournament.
“Liyema was spotted and approached by our Head Coach after we played a warm-up match one
Sunday morning against him and his team. At the time, we had just lost one of our sponsored
players due to foreign passport issues, and we were looking for a replacement.
“We approached him and his coach, got a sense of his personality and asked about his schooling and
grades. He joined the team that Tuesday. We applied for his passport; due to time constraints he
could not get his visa in time to travel with the team to the USA. So, the same Sunday that the team
left to the USA, we put Liyema on a plane, flew him to Johannesburg because it was the earliest
appointment available in South Africa. He stayed with his uncle in Johannesburg.
“On the Monday morning, he went for his visa interview and it was granted. He received his visa that
Thursday. On the Friday we put him on an Air France Plane, flew him via Charles De Gaulle airport in
Paris and he landed in Dallas on the Saturday afternoon.
“That Sunday, Liyema played the game of his life. Up until that time, Liyema had never travelled
outside of the Western Cape before. Subsequent to that tour, I received a call from Liyema’s coach
at the time, to say that Liyema returned to his community as a bit of a hero and inspired his team
and his community to such an extent that they were planning their own trip to the UK the following
year.”
One of our end goals for the players, over and above the experience, is to provide them with
opportunities to further their football and education in the USA, through scholarships. Exposure at
the Dallas Cup and footage obtained from tournament matches prove a key tool in this regard.
“Currently, we have two players on scholarships in the USA, thanks to footage obtained from the
Dallas Cup. Another two are on their way this year.”
For the 2025 tournament, the club will be represented by players from Table View, Hellenic FC and
Cape Town Spurs among other local football clubs.
The other reason for opening it up is to lessen the financial burden on the Table View FC community.
It costs over R60,000 per player and if you multiply that by 18 or 20 players per squad, and of which
we are sending two teams, it adds up to a significant investment and something which would simply
not be sustainable if we limited the tournament to only Table View parents.”
He added that there are a number of young players who have been selected as part of the squad but
who are not by the financial means to cover the costs which includes flights, accommodation,
transport hire as well as training and match kit.
“As a club, we are planning a series of fundraising initiatives but would also make a plea to
corporates, local businesses, as well as individuals to support us as a club to help make this dream a
reality for these young people,” he added.
“Every little bit helps and it gives these young players a wonderful opportunity to showcase their
talent and also contribute to an exchange of ideas, culture and learning about themselves and the
world around them.”
If anyone would like to donate to Table View’s Dallas Cup 2025 campaign, please speak toCraig
Barrows at craigbarrows13.cb@gmail.com