‘My prayer is that Irvin Khoza can live forever,’ says Chippa boss Mpengesi

In a statement that will set football tongues wagging, Chippa United owner Siviwe “Chippa” Mpengesi said Irvin Khoza deserves another term leading the Premier Soccer League (PSL).

Khoza’s term as chair ends in 2024 after he was re-elected unopposed in 2020.

The 74-year-old Khoza has occupied the powerful position since the PSL’s inception in 1996.

Asked recently about leadership succession at the PSL, Khoza said whoever is going to replace him should be versed in the value chain from grassroots to the top flight and the challenges facing the organisation.

“We are in very good hands at the moment,” said Mpengesi as he sang the praises of Khoza, who is also Orlando Pirates owner and chair.

“If you compare the PSL and Safa [SA Football Association] at the moment, it is like oil and water, you can’t compare the two organisations and that is thanks to Mr Irvin Khoza and Ms Mato Madlala [CEO].

“You can imagine how proud I am to be the chair of a PSL team — this is because of the hard work they [Khoza and Madlala] have done. Every day I talk to them, I am very close to the chair of the league and to the CEO and they guide me here and there.”

Mpengesi, who unveiled 16 new players and handed over a house to a family in Deberha, Engcobo in the Eastern Cape, with premier Oscar Mabuyane as part of Mandela Day this week, said there is no need to fix what is not broken.

“When it comes to the PSL, why must we fix what is not broken? There is nothing that is broken there, unlike at Safa. The PSL is a well-oiled machine, we have sponsors left, right and centre and we are the best league in Africa.

“We can learn from them so that one day when they no longer have the strength to do what they are doing now we can continue to keep this brand at this level.

“For me, my prayer is that Irvin Khoza can live forever, because he is doing a lot of good for us as owners of the clubs. As owners of the clubs, we are even going to persuade him to stand again for the next term, because that machine is not broken and why fix it? There is no reason for that.”

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