On Leopards Buying Their Way Back To Second Tier
Black Leopards are back in the Motsepe Foundation Championship after buying the status of All Stars and, for me, as a former player (of the club), these are good news for the people of Venda and the province of Limpopo as a whole because Black Leopards is the biggest team in Limpopo. For some of us who played for the club and still support the team, this is good because relegation to the amateur ranks would have been difficult to accept. When I played for Black Leopards, my career was at the beginning and as a beginner, you have two choices in football: either you learn and grow or become comfortable where you are. At the time, I was beginning to understand football while I had my dream to go further with my career. The challenges were there and I overcame them. Today I can look back and say that Black Leopards is a team that made me the player that everybody knows today. This is a club with rich history. My late father took me to Black Leopards training for the first time in 2006 when there were players like Wonani Mulaudzi and Eric Ramavhale. I was young and very scared. I trained with the team for one day and the following day I did not want to go back because of all of the big names who were there – these were guys I used to watch on TV after all.
Training with them was a scary experience. That is how I joined team and David Thidiela’s brother, Aaron, played a huge role in ensuring that I broke into the professional ranks and got a contract. From there, everything went smooth. By the time I played against teams like Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns, I was a little bit nervous because I had never played in front of a packed stadium. I regained my confidence and did my best for the team because I wanted people to know who we were as a team. I also wanted to prove myself that I was a player who could score goals in a big league. This team has given so many players from Venda and other villages around Limpopo a chance to play professional football. Guys like Coxwell Ratshivhadelo and Rudzani Mulaudzi got their big breaks at this club. It meant a lot back in those days for players coming from areas around Limpopo to get a chance to play professional football because opportunities were very slim for us to play in the top league.
