Kick Off June 2020

Thursday, June 11 marks exactly 10 years since South Africa hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup – the first of its kind to be played on the African continent. Even though Bafana Bafana ended the World Cup with an unwanted record of being the first host nation to get knocked out in the group stages, the tournament was a success story, nonetheless. Just a few years before it kicked off, stories emanating from Europe and other parts of the world were questioning South Africa’s readiness to host a tournament of this magnitude. Questions about whether newly constructed stadiums would be finished on time, road infrastructure, dealing with constant power cuts due to load shedding and the everrising crime statistics gave birth to rumours over whether Australia would end up as…

Give Pitso a break Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane is more often than not caught offside in the PSL law for his criticisms of the referees. Mosimane hardly minces his words whenever the middleman has mistakenly cost him the match. I personally feel that the Brazilians’ coach, who has been hit hard in the pocket for bringing the PSL into disrepute, has been wrongly accused and fined. Mosimane is a hardworking disciplined serial winner who wants nothing less than a victory in every match and contest he’s in. The interviews themselves are unfair because they are conducted immediately after the game. No quarter is given for tempers to cool down and they are denied an opportunity to gather their thoughts. In the EPL, the press conference is being held over…

Covid-19 and the beautiful game The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the globe to its knees and has had a tremendous impact on the continuation of our domestic leagues all over the world. We eagerly await as fervent South African football lovers what the final outcome of the PSL will be as Kaizer Chiefs is still at the summit and really any of the top five teams are possibly in with a chance to make it an intriguing conclusion to our league. It is, however, imperative as football lovers that we adhere to the rules and regulations set forth by our government during these precarious times in an effort to curb and lessen the effects of COVID-19. I commend our football governing body for following suit with regards to halting play and…

ALSO LAST MONTH… • South African football mourns the loss of former AmaZulu midfielder Cedric ‘Sugar Ray’ Xulu, who passed away at the age of 81. He was regarded as one of the finest players of his generation and had a stadium in Clermont, Durban named after him. • The South African Football Association appoint head of legal affairs Tebogo Motlanthe as their acting CEO, as he takes over from Gay Mokoena, who did not have his short-term contract renewed in April. • Bafana Bafana star Bongani Zungu is relegated from the French Ligue 1 with his club Amiens after the season is abandoned and the final placings kept as they were before the campaign was paused in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. • South Africans Thabo Cele and…

KICK OFF: How much has the coronavirus affected you personally? Sphelele Mkhulise: It has affected me massively because it happened at a time when the progress that I was making in my football was evident. When we go back to the field, I will have to find ways of starting again and trying to find a way of catching up with what I had already been doing to bring back my form. But I am grateful that we have all been safe at home and following all the regulations from the authorities. The team gave us a programme to follow so every morning we are training and at least able to keep busy. My daily life hasn’t been affected much because I only focus on football. I miss football. Not…

Sphelele Mkhulise admits to looking up to Percy Tau, who came up from the Mamelodi Sundowns development and went on loan to the NFD at Witbank Spurs before blossoming and leaving for Europe. “I am encouraged by what happened with Percy because he also started out in the Sundowns development then MDC after which he was loaned out to Spurs, which helped with his growth,” Mkhulise says. “He then came back and became a regular before leaving for overseas. So, when I see his career path it gives me the belief that I can also do it if I show the willingness to continue working, respecting and learning. “What is good about all of this is that I also have the chance to make it abroad as well,” he says.…