21/05/2026
The Roslyn Wakari Stables Trust was proud to support opportunities for a group of our club’s youth players who recently travelled to Spain as part of the Football Otago Youth Development (Foydat New Zealand) squad, competing in the Villarreal Yellow Cup Easter tournament.
Among those representing the club were Angus Sawyer, Theo Johnstone, Arrsalan Nayle, and Jakob Noble, who were part of a southern squad that experienced elite international football, high-performance environments, and the culture of the game in Spain. The FOYDAT programme itself has been led since its inception by Roslyn Wakari legend Neil MacKenzie, whose long-standing commitment has been central to providing these development opportunities for young players across the region.
The tour itself was memorable from the outset, with a 52-hour journey to reach their destination, before the players were immersed in a professional setup-training with Villarreal academy coaches, staying alongside international teams, and preparing to high standards both on and off the field.
On the pitch, the squad produced some outstanding moments, including a dominant 8-0 win against a Spanish-club academy side, where Theo Johnstone was among the goals with a hat-trick. Theo also scored a standout individual goal later in the tournament, while Angus Sawyer’s competitive edge was evident throughout, most notably in a hard-fought match where he was harshly shown a red card.
Experiences like this are about more than results. They expose players to different styles of football, challenge them in new environments, and help accelerate their development both as players and young people.
It is already encouraging to see the impact back at home. Angus and Theo have stepped into 2nd team senior football at Roslyn, while Arrsalan is representing Roslyn Wakari in the U15 Youth Development League and recently led one of our youth teams to victory at the Queenstown International Cup. Jakob Noble has since headed to Germany on a school exchange and will return to Dunedin later this year.
More broadly, the Trust’s support of these experiences is aimed not only at player development, but also at fostering a strong sense of connection and loyalty to Roslyn Wakari AFC as their long-term football home.
We congratulate all four players on their efforts and look forward to following their continued progress in the Roslyn Wakari colours.🐴🖤🤍⚽️
www.rwstablestrust.co.nz
