In the wake of the off-season lull in top-flight football all over the world, and in Mzansi, there has been one football competition keeping soccer fans on tenterhooks in South Africa.
The dull moments related to transfer speculation and eventual moves and signings have been put on the back burner. The talking point is the talent displayed by the reserve sides of the PSL sides in, guess, the DStv Diski Shield.
The talent displayed by the youngsters in the Shield matches is beyond imagination, the youngsters are entertainers with their feet. The skill showed is that of thinking ball jugglers and most of all, they play typical township football (dribbling with purpose) that the fans are yearning for from PSL players.
Despite the matches being shown live on TV, the match venues, mostly in townships, are packed to capacity. Not because the fans are allowed in free of charge. No, the main reason is there is entertainment galore, something that has been absent for two years due to Covid.
Fans are reminded of the entertaining, skilful and brainy football played by yesteryear’s legends of Mzansi soccer, Ephraim “Jomo” Sono, Kaizer “Chincha” Motaung, Percy “Chippa” Moloi, Patrick “Ace” Ntsoelengoe, to name just a few greats of the 70s. But thereafter, there was the era of Siyabonga “Bhele” Nomvethe, Doctor “16V” Khumalo, Sibusiso “Rhee” Zuma, Mark “Feesshh” Fish, Helman “Midnight Express” Mkhalele, Aaron “Mbazo” Mokoena and the late John “Shoes” Moshoeu. Once again the list is infinite.
Returning to the Diski Shield and the joy brought to trophyless Kaizer Chiefs’ fans, their reserve side yesterday took on Stellenbosch FC’s second-string side at Mpumalanga Stadium in Hammersdale, after setting up an epic final of top drawer football.
And the stars of this football show are many, but I would like to single out Stellies’ striker Mervin Boji, who has two goals to his name from two games. Amakhosi midfielder and captain Mduduzi Shabalala, as well as in-form three-goal striker Wandile Duba are also some of the young stars who have caught the eye, and put their hands up as worthy inclusions in the first team.
Before yesterday’s final, Stellies, the DStv Diski Challenge trophy holders, were on the verge of becoming the first team to win both the league (Challenge) and the cup competition (Shield). Under the mentorship of current first-team coach
Arthur Zwane, Amakhosi reserves lifted the Shield four years ago, in 2018.
The Glamour Boys’ reserves, now under the guidance of coach Vela Khumalo, booked a place in the Shield final after a 2-0 drubbing of arch-rivals Mamelodi Sundowns last weekend. Chiefs beat SuperSport United to book a place in the semifinal, while Sundowns knocked Orlando Pirates two weeks ago.
The Cape winelands side, under coach Evangelos Vellios, is in the final after defeating Chippa United 1-0, and eliminated Maritzburg United in the quarterfinals.
There is not much in the form of prize money as the winners receive R200 000, the runners-up R150 000 and the third-placed team pockets R100 000 for their chosen charity.
The Challenge league and the Shield cup have over the years become synonymous with township football, with fans taking a stroll to watch the young players carving a niche for themselves as top tier football prospects.
It is in venues such as the Mpumalanga Stadium, the Giant Stadium in Soshanguve, the Makhulong Stadium in Thembisa and the dusty township gravel pitches that have become the happy hunting grounds for professional football clubs’ talent scouts.
It’s been a tradition, as is the case during the festive season break, when hordes of fans converge on local gravel grounds to be entertained. But times have changed, and football has evolved to become a huge money-spinning business involving billionaires purchasing clubs.
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