The PRESIDENT of the South African Football Association (Safa) in Durban, Mazwi Mkhize, says that he will follow his grandfather’s freedom when football is brought back to life and the structures of players who are brought up in KwaZulu-Natal and across South Africa are properly developed.
Mkhize is among the veterans in sports leadership, including Jeremiah “Ace” Mdlalose and Dr Kevin Subban, who were honored with Lifetime Achievement awards at the KZN Sports Awards held at the weekend, at the King Albert Luthuli Convention Centre, Durban.
He returned with us to supervise Safa in Durban in the elections held in January. Under his leadership, the region has benefited from many sponsors who sponsored the competitions played by the association’s teams under it.
“It is important for a person to be respected while he is still alive. But I believe that I should have been respected a long time ago if you look at the distance I have traveled in football management, which is 47 years, since 1979,” said Mkhize.
“There are so many people who have passed through my hands, I can count them until the sun goes down. Others have been asking saying ‘Khabazela, when will he be honored?’ However, I was telling them that I will not fall again and applaud myself.
“It doesn’t help that we are respected if this false football is still played in our country, we have not returned to the football that is our culture in South Africa, which was played years ago before FIFA kicked us out of world football.
“If we still have coaches who don’t want to give our players the freedom to talk about football like Kaizer Motaung, Chippa Moloi, Jomo Sono, Professor Ngubane, Ace Mnini and others did.”
Mkhize said that one thing he wishes for is the development of coaches who will focus on working with players who are growing up in our schools and football associations, who will not want to train in PSL teams.
“We need those who will train young players in the right way according to their age, not coaches who have failed in football who will call 10-year-old children cows,” he continued.
“In other countries, young players are trained by coaches who are qualified to train young players.”
He then challenged the Ministry of Sports, Arts and Culture on the importance of focusing on investing in the development of football at the grassroots level instead of investing millions of money in the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) proposed by the Ministry led by Gayton McKenzie.
“VAR will not help the players who are growing up in Nongoma, Newcastle, Vryheid, and other rural areas that lack infrastructure and playgrounds,” said Mkhize.
“Where is the need to take millions of money and invest them in the PSL with teams owned by millionaires, when there are no stadiums in the homes and townships? “Girls’ football players still dress openly because none of our fields in townships and villages have changing rooms,” he concluded.