Nkosi’s business acumen being recognised

Former Free State Stars midfielder Timothy Nkosi found dressing up in suits, sitting in the office and attending meetings too challenging having spent most of his adult life in sport attire and chasing after a soccer ball.

Nkosi (pictured) had always planned to coach a team after retiring but a businessman earmarked him to manage a construction company which saw him temporarily hit the brakes on his coaching career. Without any formal training in business management Nkosi took the chance given to him and learned on a day to day bases.

“RDP” as the former Ea Lla Koto man was known in football circles during his heydays and coached Casarec FC in the ABC Motsepe League before shifting his focus to construction, says the man who entrusted him with running the KJM business enterprise allowed him to take time off to play in tournaments for retired players and advise some football teams in the lower leagues when needed.

“After football I wanted to coach just to develop small boys.

“But a gentleman who owned a few businesses took a liking to me especially after I started coaching an ABC Motsepe League club that he was the chairman of.

“He asked me to manage a construction company that he owned and I thought about it and he eventually convinced me to take the job he offered me and I started managing the company,” said Nkosi.

The 51-year-old wanted to be part of the technical team after he hung up his boots to help change the way players are treated.

Nkosi believes the treatment of players in clubs is the main reason for them being relegated, touching on clubs that he played for in the past such as Real Rovers, Moroka Swallows and Free State Stars who have all fallen out of the top tier after a string of poor results.

RDP says the clubs could be in a better position had they nurtured their relationships with players.

“Chopping and changing of coaches is destroying our game, they don’t get enough time, wanting results there and that doesn’t help.

“Players are human beings, not only are they very special, you need to treat them differently from other people, respect players because there is no team without them and in turn players need to do what is expected of them by the team,” he explained.

Nkosi, in his early 50’s, still lives by the principle that attracted him to football years ago as a schoolboy to focus on being good at controlling the soccer ball at his feet and letting the rest take care of itself.

“Insisting that his love affair with football has nothing to do with the financial benefits, Nkosi has his eye on a coaching job in the Eastern Cape this year.

“It will be a bit challenging to take a coaching job and run the company but I have done it before and took a club to the playoffs so I can manage.”