3 minute read
HEADING BACK TO THE BIG TIME
BY JOSHUA HENDRICKS
- MSEKELI MVALO
UWC MEN’S FOOTBALL is making a strong recovery after failing to qualify in 2019 and being unable to play USSA games to qualify for Varsity Football for two years due to COVID-19. The team was under enormous pressure in the recent USSA club champs to qualify for the Varsity Men’s Football Cup. According to Assistant Coach Msekeli Mvalo, a total rebuild was needed, along with developing a new ethos and elevated standards to achieve the target.
SAYS MVALO: “Due to the fact that most of our players were in-season with their respective clubs, we had to adjust our programme to accommodate them. It was very important to be clear to our players in terms of how we want to play as UWC considering the strong institutions we were up against, like TUT, DUT, Tuks and Wits.”
HEAD COACH, Dr Lwando Mdleleni, says: “There were several challenges that we had to overcome. The preparation phase itself was very difficult. We struggled to implement our planned preparation programme due to players being unavailable because of club commitments, classes and taxi strikes. We had budgetary issues that meant we had to forgo a large part of our plans and adapt to our reality. “We were also hampered by injuries at a crucial time. We lost three of our key players, but we had to adapt and trust the players we have in our squad. In addition, we were pinned in a group of death among the very top institutions in the country. Varsity Football has been played for nine years; seven of those titles were won by a team in our group. So it was really a daunting task for us. We had to eliminate some of the big institutions to be where we are today.”
The fact that the team emerged from that group of death as the designated Team of the Tournament speaks volumes for the quality of leadership and depth of experience of Mdleleni, Mvalo and the technical team. Mvalo, for example, can tap into a wealth of experience as a player as well as a coach. After starting in the Santos development squad, he went on to play for Golden Arrows, Chippa United, AmaTuks and Cape Town All Stars.
Mdleleni emphasised the collective effort and determination of the technical team, management and players, adding that he was not only grateful to his technical team for buying into his vision and the players for successfully executing the plan to qualify for the Cup, but also to the UWC Sport Director, Mr Gagayi, and Football Manager, Mr Sobekwa, for their unwavering support.
