South Africa’s Jessica Wade says she had a great experience in Spain following her week-long visit to the country where she got to train with the reserve team of one of La Liga’s top sides, Villarreal.
The European trip was a reward from COSAFA and La Liga for her breath-taking performances at the 2020 COSAFA U17 Women’s Championship held in Qgeberha in the Eastern Cape.
“Tsilile Lungu from Zambia was named Player of the Tournament as Zambia were edged on penalties in the final by Tanzania, while Wade captained her side with distinction, supplying goals and assists as the home side finished third in the pool. The Technical Study Group that analysed all aspects of the action on the pitch highlighted the contribution of the duo for their sides, and felt they were deserving of the offer made by La Liga to take two players from the competition to Spain,” read a statement from COSAFA.com after the tournament in 2020.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the visit was held back.
But this week Wade finally got her chance to travel to Spain.
“Yeah the time that I’ve spent at Villarreal has been absolutely incredible. Being able to train with the different teams here and experience the football facilities and the type of coaching and the type of football that they play has been a very fantastic experience,” said Wade from Villarreal.
As part of the reward, she attended the club’s EUFA Champions League second leg semi-final clash against England’s Liverpool, which the home side lost.
Wade also managed to train with the reserve side of Villarreal.
They drew 1-1 in a friendly match they played against the Valencia U17 team on Tuesday, 3 May 2022.
The former Bantwana captain hopes the experience will open doors for her.
“I think it (training) went well and I’ve had a lot of positive feedback from the coaches and players, and I really hope that it can be made into something a little bit more,” she added.
“The facilities here are just world class. We’ve been training on artificial pitches and it’s like playing on a carpet, they’ve been sensational. Then we got to have a look at where the first team training field is, and it is just amazing.”
Wade played three matches for the South African U17 Women’s National Team at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in Uruguay in 2018.
By Matlhomola Morake
