Imbali-born former Orlando Pirates, SA U20 and SA U23 midfielder Andile “Sguda” Cele is back in Pietermaritzburg permanently and has vowed to revive the old Maritzburg City Academy. The midfielder — who also once donned Maritzburg City, Golden Arrows and AmaZulu colours — believes the City of Choice can produce more stars, but the development needs to be done properly. Cele said many coaches and clubs run junior academies, but most still struggle, which may affect the growth of players.
Another problem affecting local development programmes is the lack of sponsorship, especially for teams in the townships, he said. “If a junior academy or development centre is properly run it can produce gems for the future. Many years ago at Imbali Tehuis [Imbali Lodge], we had a Transnet Development Centre which was run by local coaches such as Zeph Mthembu, Majabu Xulu, Katz Naidoo, Thabo Dladla and Simo Dladla.
It was so organised it ended up producing a number of quality players,” he said. “I mean the likes of Sifiso Mnyingwa, Shaun Potgieter, Mbulelo Mabizela, Diko Mchunu, Mncedisi Liphuko and more came from there. Why can’t we copy them and produce more gems?
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Also the old Maritzburg City, which was coached by the late Reggie Shelembe and owned by Bongi Hlophe, was able to produce a number of quality players for PSL clubs. Cele said parents also play a key role in the development of young players, especially during matches. “Parents need to be part and parcel of development and their presence is very important.” The former playmaker was one of the development coaches who were recently offloaded by AmaZulu’s management.
But Cele said that is all in the past and he is pleased to be back home to revive the Maritzburg City Academy. Meanwhile, AmaZulu recently confirmed parting ways with five members of staff within its youth structures — youth technical director Celokuhle Mbanjwa, youth goalkeeper coach Musa Langa, reserve team coach Mncedisi Sibiya, U19 coach Andile Cele, and U15 coach Nqoba Mdladla.
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