With this being the last Sports Sermon for 2024, I would like to wish our readers a merry Christmas and a prosperous new year. Part of my last scripture for the year is to urge everyone to be safe on the roads, to be responsible when they indulge in the merriments of the festive season and to behave in an exemplary manner.
For those who will be taking a rest, I say it is well-deserved, and may they enjoy their break so that they can come back recharged and rejuvenated in the new year. To those going on vacations, I say travel safely and enjoy your holidays and we shall see you on the other side of 2024.
It has been a rather topsy-turvy year overall, a year that others will never forget for its sweet memories, while it was just another disastrous 12 months for some, who would want to forget 2024 as quickly as possible.
As is the norm in sport, you either win or you lose – a draw is like kissing your sister, just a peck on the cheek and it does not mean much.
Uncharacteristic of them, chopping and changing of coaching personnel seem to have befallen defending champions and PSL kings Mamelodi Sundowns. The Brazilians caused a big stir when, at the end of last season, they fired Rulani Mokwena who almost won the league without losing a match.
Sadly, and unfortunately, he lost one game, after having wrapped up the championships with six matches to spare.
With all that, he still did not meet the club’s lofty standards and was shown the door in a huff – simply because he fell short in the CAF Champions League, which is treated like a federal crime at Sundowns.
Mokwena’s assistant, Manqoba Mngqithi, was brought back into the fray when the season started. But for some observers, myself included, it really felt like a trap, especially when you check the conditions under which he was kicked to the kerb this past week.
Just after eight games into the new season, Sundowns were topping the PSL log table, having comfortably qualified for the CAF Champions League group stage. In fact, besides hiccups when the season started, Downs were cruising until Magesi FC embarrassed them in the Carling Knockout final in Bloemfontein – that must have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.
On a rather sad note, the football fraternity lost heavyweights of the game in Stanley “Screamer” Tshabalala and Lucas “Masterpieces” Moripe. They graced SA football with their beautiful touches, colourful characters and larger-than-life personalities. Their funerals drew large crowds, even from places in the back of the beyond.
Well, it seems like 2025 has a mouthwatering sporting calendar and we cannot wait to get the ball rolling. As we indulge in the puddings, the scrumptious turkey, the delicious, sweet nibblings and the beverages, let us remember that we have to be on top of our game when the new year arrives.
Happy holidays everyone.
