The Louis Trichardt-based soccer club, Mango Soccer Academy, will compete in the Safa Vhembe MMK Administrator's League this season. This follows after the club bought the status of Greenway Soccer Academy.
The transfer of the status was announced last week. The chairperson of Mango Soccer Academy, Mr Manqoba Mfeleku, confirmed that his team will compete in Stream E of the MMK league. According to Mfeleku, the reason behind buying the higher status is to develop young players. He said he wanted to produce more players who could play for any elite league team.
Mfeleku said the Louis Trichardt area was home to many talented players. He also thanked the residents of the town for the confidence shown in the team. The team will use the field at Eltivillas as their home ground.
Mfeleku believes that he can take the team to the highest level of football in the country within a reasonable period. The head coach, Mr Maedza "Chippa" Mutshekwa, said that he had been given the mandate to ensure that the team completed the league programme on top of the log and proceeded to the promotional play-offs for the ABC Motsepe League. Their plan is to work their way up to the national first division or the premier league by 2026.
The chairperson of Greenway Soccer Academy, Mr Justice Matloga, said the main reason he decided to sell the status was because of a lack of sponsorship.