VFC are still in with a chance, reckons club's chairman

Mr Itani Munzhelele, Venda Football Club (VFC)’s chairman, is adamant that the team will not be relegated to the lower division at the end of the season. Munzhelele admitted that the team had started the season on a bad footing, but said that the technical staff were working day and night to ensure that the team avoid the relegation zone.

Maunavhathu, as they are called, are currently lying in the 13^th position on the log standings with 22 points, three ahead of the tailenders, Platinum City Rovers. VFC were languishing at the bottom of the log before their game against Baroka FC, which was played at the Global Stadium in Lebowakgomo two weeks ago. They beat Baroka 1-0 and moved three steps up the log.

Munzhelele said that a lot of points were at stake in their remaining league matches. He stressed the fact that a lot of surprises can still happen in their nine remaining fixtures. Vhanzheli, as he is also known, said that what made him more confident that they would escape the axe was the fact that five of their nine remaining matches would be played in front of their home crowd.

Although their target for now is to save the team from relegation, Munzhelele reckons the team might still secure a place in the promotional playoffs. He said that beefing up the squad with five experienced players during the January transfer window period and bolstering the team’s technical team by appointing the former Dondol Stars’ head coach, Mr Khuliso Rashamuse, to the position of assistant coach three weeks ago were a clear indication that they were serious about saving the team from possible relegation.

VFC’s next fixture will be against Black Leopards at the Thohoyandou Stadium on Tuesday, 2 April. Their four other home fixtures will be against Casric Stars, University of Pretoria, Maritzburg United, and Milford FC. They will wrap up their league programme with an away fixture against Magesi FC at Polokwane’s Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday, 19 May.

Date:22 March 2024

By: Frank Mavhungu

Frank is a Human Resources Manager at the Department of Public Works in Limpopo. He is the longest serving correspondent of the Mirror, having joined us at the end of 1990.  He mainly writes sports reports and resides at Tsianda Village. In 2004, Frank won the National Castle League Award, an award for the best reporter in the SAB league in South Africa.

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