To prove that the club is serious about gaining promotion to the elite division at the end of the 2024/25 Motsepe Foundation Championship League season, Black Leopards have appointed Maxwell Konadu as head coach.
The 51-year-old Ghanaian national was introduced to the congregants during a service at the United African Apostolic Church in Vhufuli outside Thohoyandou last Sunday. Konadu landed in the country last Thursday and was introduced to the players at the team's training ground in Polokwane the following day.
A quick glance at his curriculum vitae shows that Lidoda Duvha might have appointed the right person for the position. After playing for several amateur teams in his native country, Konadu turned professional in 1991. He played for several teams, including Asante Kotoko, CS Sfaxien, Leiria FC, Beira-Mar, Marinhense FC, and King Faisal, between 1991 and 2004. He hung up his soccer boots at the end of the 2003/4 soccer season. He vanished from football circles for several years until he resurfaced as the head coach of Wa All Stars FC in 2010.
Although Konadu is not a man of many words, his records as a coach speak volumes. He worked as an assistant coach for the Ghanaian national team between 2011 and 2019. He also coached the Ghanaian U/20 and U/23 teams over the years.
Konadu could not resist when Black Leopards offered him an employment contract after his relationship with his former employer, Nsoatreman FC, came to an end on 30 June this year.
When introducing him to the congregants, the chairman of the club, Mr. Tshifhiwa Thidiela, said that Konadu's appointment was a clear indication that they were serious about promotion at the end of the 2024/25 soccer season. When asked if it would be possible for him to achieve the mandate during his first season with the team, Konadu said that he would not have agreed to sign the employment contract if the mandate was not achievable.