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What was once a rough diamond—now an African giant, Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club!

A love letter dedicated to the Mamelodi Sundowns 12 th player. Over the past decade we have witnessed Mamelodi Sundowns fans transforming into a beautifully united family that wins and losses with the team. A rare sight in the game, a spirit that is slowly spreading to other PSL clubs. This is a love story worth penning down.   By: Kgothatso Malepe It’s only at Mamelodi Sundowns where you will see fans singing and dancing with the players even after tasting defeat in a crucial game like CAF Champions League (CCL) semi-final. That doesn’t mean they are not hurting over the loss but simply demonstrates how deep the bond and spirit of togetherness is between the players, technical team and the supporters. This picture depicts the transformation that took place throughout the years Now, let’s go down the memory lane, when Mamelodi Sundowns was trapped by the shackles of relegation. Allow me to talk about the man who understood that fans are the football club’s biggest clients, Pitso
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First Final in more than a Decade...

  Football fans love to be associated with winning trophies; it earns them bragging rights. For the fans is never about the prize money but the respect that comes with being the champions. Before the 5 th of November 2022, AmaZulu last saw a major cup final in 2010 against Bidvest Wits in the Nedbank Cup and last tasted cup victory three decades ago when they won the Coca-Cola Cup, now known as the Telkom Knockout. Now, you'd wonder what is it that keeps the fans in the club despite its unfortunateness when it comes winning trophies. Indlovukazi Ya MaZulu Miss Luyunda Mbuyazi shares with #AuthenticFootballChats how the love runs deeper than just AmaZulu winning trophies. She further unpacks what the MTN8 final meant to the fans...   by Kgothatso Malepe Every soccer fan has drawn an inspiration from someone, somewhere or something that led to them being a supporter of a particular club. For Usuthu Queen, it was her late dad and the goodies he would buy for her each time AmaZul
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The Star Stylist of Football Branches Nationwide—Kaizer Chiefs Tembisa Branch

We got up close and personal with the Deputy Chairperson of Amakhosi Tembisa Branch Mr Justice "Skhalazo" Mohlala who shared with #AuthenticFootballChats what makes their branch one of the biggest and successful supporters branches in the PSL. by Kgothatso Malepe Kaizer Chiefs Tembisa Branch—Established 48 years ago, officially launched 47 years ago and they have never dropped the ball. Today the branch stands at 145 active official members on their database, which is jackpot if you ask me. Having served as a branch secretary and Provincial Supporters Coordinator, I know how challenging it is to keep numbers consistent and growing without a decline in the branches. Skhalazo maintains that more than anything, one thing that keeps them going as a branch is the love and passion they have for football and Kaizer Football Club. "Every organisation has challenges, as a deputy chairperson I have taught myself to be humble all the time because if I do not humble myself then m
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Bloemfontein Celtic Status Sale: A Supporter's Perspective....

As a football supporter you never think one morning you will wake up to headlines of the sale of your favourite club on every news channel. Well, sadly it happened to Bloemfontein Celtic fans. Kgothatso Malepe spoke to Mamello Makha who shared how the status of the club being sold has affected the supporters and the community of Bloemfontein—her hometown.   Bloemfontein Celtic Football Club may be history in the topflight league but the likes of Mamello Makha remain constant reminders that Siwelele put a smile on Bloemfontein people's faces, "Celtic was team of the people" says Makha. In August 2021 rumours of what I could refer to as Siwelele fans worst nightmare started building up rapidly, then mid-August hearts were shattered in the Free State Province as the status sale of their only club in DSTV Premiership was officially announced. For the community of Bloemfontein, it was not just about losing their beloved football team, but their township economy was to be sha
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The Soweto Love Affair….

In conversation with Jan Sehlapelo, an active member of Diepsloot Kaizer Chiefs supporters’ branch. He unpacks how his love for the Soweto giants came about.   By Kgothatso Malepe Jan describes the atmosphere during his first time at the stadium as electrifying and exciting. Until that one fateful day in 1992 where team of his of heart was facing Wits University, Jan had watched Kaizer Chiefs matches on a black and white television back at his home in a small village called Spitzkop, Limpopo. "In my village, it was only my family that had a tv, black and white television. So people would gather to watch games, especially when Chiefs was playing". His Soweto giants love story is an interesting one, it is one that was derived out of a challenge with childhood friends. He explains that most of his friends were smitten by Moroka Swallows and Witbank Aces so he thought he should add a dash of more Soweto flavour to the crew. The love affair with Iwisa Kaizer Chiefs grew st
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Khabo Zitha - Banyana Banyana Legend

Khabo Zitha - Banyana Banyana Legend who is now a Correctional Services officer and coach, started playing soccer at a young age, she started playing with boys and at the age of 16 was invited to play for Soweto Ladies.  "I used to save money to travel to Soweto for training and games. As a girl child, I had chores to do at home, my friends would come help me finish everything in order for us to go play football", said Khabo. After years of playing football, she was injured and could not play football anymore, however her passion for football did not stop there. She is now coaching a male football team at Zonderwater Correctional Services, has he own female soccer team and Foundation. "We will not let you down, support women's football. Please!" - Khabo Zitha  Get to know how Khabo Zitha started playing soccer: Khabo: Started playing football in the streets of Mamelodi when I was doing Standard 3 (Grade 5), I was the one that always had a soccer ball (made of pl
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The Iron Lady

  As we celebrate women’s month and continue to celebrate the 50 th anniversary of the Tshwane giants, we decide to hit two birds with one stone by getting in touch with The Iron lady. The woman who contributed a lot in laying the foundation that the South African football powerhouse is standing on and a woman who has achieved it all in the football fraternity and made her mark. Kgothatso “KG” Malepe goes through the conversation with Mrs Anastasia “Natasha” Tsichlas.   Kgothatso- How did you get involved in football? Natasha- I grew up in a football family and got married to a football man. Kgothatso- Back in the day when you took over as Managing director at Mamelodi Sundowns, women did not really have a solidified place in football, especially management. How did you cope with the transition and were you getting your well-deserved respect from your male counterparts? Natasha- Because I come from a football family, I had a very good foundation, Angelo have always been involv
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