Following their consistent success on the field, Nelson Mandela University could not be better placed to help evolve soccer within the Nelson Mandela metro.
Its soccer club, aptly named Madibaz FC, has developed an unrivalled platform to grow a diverse student player base academically and socially that creates value for society through the sport.
The students demonstrated this once again with an incredible track record in the SAB NMB Regional League, having clinched the title last weekend.
Club president Glenton de Kock said: “Football in the metro is now at a fascinating and critical stage of development.
“With the growth of clubs in the semi-professional leagues (SAB and ABC Motsepe), the most obvious missing representation is in the National First Division.
“As Madibaz FC, we see unprecedented growth opportunities in both the development of football as an industry within the entertainment and service sector of our metro, as well as its inspirational role in bringing people of all ages together with a shared passion.”
Winning the NMB SAB regional league back-to-back must be seen in the context of the overall Madibaz Football strategic plan that is directed at changing the public and institutional perception around university soccer, sport manager Mark Tommy said.
He said soccer was the biggest and most popular sport code that lent itself to commercialisation simply because of the South African Football Association’s national promotional league structure.
“No other national sport federation allows this potential economic growth pathway through a promotion process,” Tommy said.
“The growth of football at the university has been phenomenal because of years of hard work.“All credit must go to the student players for pulling off these performances while remaining committed to fulfilling their academic requirements.”
As the general secretary of University Sport South Africa Football, Tommy said he was seeing a transformation in the positioning of football at institutional level.
“This is paying dividends and has led us to the pursuit of professional football status through the promotion pathway of the ABC Motsepe League and National First Division,” Tommy said. “Our focus is now on the playoffs from June 15 to 17 in Grahamstown.
“Having failed at our first attempt at the promotional playoffs last year, we now have another shot at it.”
With the SAB League title secured, Madibaz coach Wayne Iveson said their attention was now solely on the playoffs.
“The mood in the camp is positive and mental capacity is going to be of vital importance to achieve success in the playoffs.”
“The league has been tough and competitive, with regular double-headers.
“At one stage, Madibaz played five matches in seven days.”
In addition, Tommy said, the club’s outreach and community engagement project with Ndzondelelo High ensured that the player talent pathway from junior level to university remained strong.
Tommy said the successful university Campus Football League now boasted 21 men’s teams playing on campus every Sunday.