Madibaz playing for the Bay

NMMU Madibaz begin Phase Two of their ambitious plan to bring professional soccer to the metro on Friday when they take on OR Tambo in the opening match of the playoffs in Alice for a place in the ABC Motsepe League.

The students qualified for the playoffs after wining the SafaNMB SAB League by a record 21 points.

Teams from the eight municipalities in the Eastern Cape have been divided into two groups and will play a round robin.

The top team in each section will automatically be promoted.

“The coach and technical team have been working very hard over the past month [preparing for the playoffs],” NMMU director of sports Yoliswa Lumka said.

“It was not easy [to prepare] as we will be playing against teams from across the province who we know nothing about.

“We will be focusing on our own strength, and if we can perform as well as we did in the SafaNMB League, we should achieve our second goal [place in the Motsepe League], Lumka said.

NMMU soccer sport manager Mark Tommy said the students had played a number of preparation matches and had several technical tactical sessions.

“The playoffs are a culmination of a well-executed and strategic plan to grow the Madibaz football programme,” Tommy said.

“The next step [after winning promotion] is creating sports opportunities for potential footballers, not only for the students but for all players in the metro.

“We call on the support of the entire metro, because it is not about the university alone.

“When we eventually reach professional status it will open doors for the entire football community,” Tommy said.

Matches begin at midday on Friday and at 9am on Saturday.

Groups:

Group A: OR Tambo (OR Tambo Municipality), Bizana Pondo Chiefs (Alfred Nzo Municipality), Birmingham City (Buffalo City Municipality), NMMU Madibaz (Nelson Mandela Municipality). Group B: Junior Chiefs (Joe Nqabi Municipality), Amavarara (Chris Hani Municipality), Manchester United (Sarah Baartman Municipality).

Fixtures:

Friday: Field A – OR Tambo v NMMU Madibaz, Junior Chiefs v Manchester United. Field B – Bizana Pondo Chiefs v Birmingham City, Try Again v Amavarara. Saturday: Field A – OR Tambo v Birmingham City, Junior Chiefs v Amavarara, OR Tambo v Bizana Pondo Chiefs, Amavarara v Manchester United. Field B – Bizana Pondo Chiefs v NMMU Madibaz, Try Again v Manchester United, Birmingham City v NMB Madibaz, Amavarara v Manchester United.