TIME TO SAY GOODBYE...

After seventeen years of delivering soccer at its best, it’s finally time for me to take a bow and say goodbye to my beloved KICK OFF magazine. It’s really hard to imagine that after I bought my first ever KICK OFF magazine 20 years and three months ago (the June 1996 edition with Doctor Khumalo on the cover), I would go on to live my dream and work for my favourite soccer publication. With no access to internet, no DSTV, no mobile phones and no televised midweek matches, KICK OFF magazine was my only source of information and I made sure that I didn’t miss a single copy. Every few days before the magazine hit the shelves, excitement used to build up in anticipation of what I was going to read inside the magazine. And for R4.35, I always got more than what I paid for. And when KICK OFF changed from a monthly to a fortnightly publication in September 1996, it just got better, even though it also meant I had to save twice the amount of money! But I didn’t care. And in May 1999 – while studying Journalism – my dream finally came true when I met then editor Richard Maguire who gave me a chance to be an intern and later employed me full-time. And what I experienced between May 1999 and August 2016 is something I will cherish for a very long time. Thank you to all my colleagues, former colleagues and the readers who have been supporting us. But I will not be lost in football: in September I will be joining Soccer Laduma. KICK OFF founding editor Mark Gleeson will be making a return as Acting Editor while Nick Said, who worked for the magazine between 2003 and 2008, will be taking over as an Acting Managing Editor. Gleeson and Said will certainly bring valuable experience to the team. The duo – together with our new Digital Editor Mark Herman and the rest of the team – will definitely take KICK OFF magazine to the next level. Over the last few years many people came and left, but KICK OFF still continues to grow. With the new football season upon us, KICK OFF is starting the new season with a revamped design, and what better way of doing that than making Mamelodi Sundowns’ new signing Sibisiso Vilakazi our cover star. Over the last few years, Vilakazi has been one South Africa’s best players and has been linked with moves to Europe. But the attacking midfielder finally left Bidvest Wits for League champions Mamelodi Sundowns, and tells us his reasons for doing so as well as details of his future ambitions. In this edition we also speak to new Kaizer Chiefs signing Ramahlwe Mphahlele following the former Sundowns captain’s move to Naturena after his contract was not renewed. Other great features inside the magazine include the lowdown on Orlando Pirates’ new signings, the rise of newly promoted Highlands Park and new kids on the block, Cape Town City FC.