Former Bafana Bafana captain Aaron Mokoena has reacted to Liverpool academy starlet Gabriano Shelton’s impassioned plea to national team selectors.
The 15-year-old Gabriano Shelton reached out to the national Under 17 coach Duncan Crowie asking to be considered as he is keen to represent South Africa.
Mokoena is Crowe’s assistant, and they are currently preparing for the COSAFA tournament set for Malawi in December.
Shelton’s parents are South African and hail from East London. The teenager, who plays either as a right-back or central midfielder, has been with Liverpool for the last five years after they signed him in 2017.
SHELTON TEXT TO THE COACH
In a lengthy text sent to the Under 17 coach, the Liverpool Under 15 captain wrote:
“My name is Gabriano Shelton, I’m 15 years old, and I live in Liverpool, UK. I was told you are the right person to speak to about the SA national U17 squad.
“I play right back and central midfield for Liverpool FC U15s. I’m 15 years old and was born in 2007. My parents are both South African.
“It is my dream to represent SA. I just wanted to know if there is any way that I could be added to the database for players that are monitored to hopefully be invited to camps/trials for the U17 squad.
“I have a British passport, but my family and I are coming to SA in December and hopefully sort out both my brother’s and my passports.
“My dad has spoken to Dominic Chimhavi in February, and he said he would keep us posted on how to proceed. But we’ve not heard from him since.
“Any help or guidance would be appreciated on how to go about it or if it’s not possible. Thanks for your time, Gabi.”
MOKOENA EAGER TO LOOK AT HIM
“We’re aware of Gabriano. Coach and I had a discussion about him. We do need to broaden our selection base,” the former Bafana Bafana captain said.
“But at the moment, we are too tight to assess anyone as we’re preparing for the Cosafa Cup.
Mokoena told FARPost that they were aware of Shelton and would assess him at a later stage.
“After Cosafa, we will have room to assess as much as we need,” Mokoena said.
Gabriano, the older of the Shelton brothers who both play for Liverpool, started playing football in November 2013.
His young brother, El Niño, joined him the following year in 2014, aged four years. The Under 17s are currently in camp preparing for the COSAFA Cup 2022, scheduled for December in Malawi.
