Former UKZN coach joins the big league
Ntombifuthi “Mchichwa” Khumalo, a former coach for UKZN’s Pietermaritzburg girls’ soccer team, has taken up the position of Assistant Coach for the South African women’s U17 – Bantwana – taking her career to new heights.
Commonly known as Mchichwa, Khumalo earned her nickname while playing professional soccer for Maritzburg City during the early 2000s. Khumalo, who lives in KwaPhumuza in Pietermaritzburg, started playing soccer at the tender age of nine, and at 14 was drafted to be part of a local soccer team in the Msunduzi Municipality.
Having started her coaching career in 2008 at Maritzburg City, Khumalo joined UKZN in 2018 and highlighted how she enjoyed her four-year stint there and appreciated the support she received from staff. "The students still can’t believe that I’ve left the university as they still call and text me, but coaching under the South African Football Association (SAFA) has provided me with a chance to grow in my career, so I’ve taken up the opportunity with both hands," she said.
Passionate about youth development, Khumalo noted how coaching is not just about the sport but about imparting life lessons to the players that they can use after varsity and in their everyday lives. Khumalo remarked on how her involvement in the First National Bank (FNB) Football First Programme – focused on girls’ and boys’ advancement in soccer – helped her to understand the importance of player development.
She also commented on how her travels to countries like Malawi through her participation in the African Youth Championship – funded by SAFA, the Departments of Basic Education and Sports, Arts and Culture – had allowed her to be noticed for her current role as assistant coach. Having been a part of the Bantwana U17 camp for a little more than a month, she said she is adapting well following the warm welcome given by the technical team.
Khumalo plans to initiate a programme that looks at the holistic development of youth both in sports and education, making it easier for players to adjust at a professional level. Noting the difficulties faced by individuals in the sporting world, she recognised the high level of talent in the province of KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa as a whole and urged higher education institutions to buy into programmes such as these in order for the country to succeed.
Words: Hlengiwe Khwela