Manenberg’s proverbial ‘Rufty Bundies’ has got the tongues of Cape Town’s football fraternity wagging – and all for the right reasons.
This is largely due to the heroics of coach Kaylem ‘Pepza’ Mentoor’s under-19 Manenberg Sporting Academy who produced one of the upsets in the history of the prestigious Bayhill Premier Cup during the penultimate round of the playoffs.
The team from the ghetto – who’s been in existence for only two years – became the talk of the town after they eliminated Hellenic – a six-time co-record holder of the under-19 Easter tournament along with the now-defunct Ajax Cape Town.
Mentoor, a former product of Ajax Cape Town who also played in the Bayhill himself, said that it was a big deal for them as his players weren’t given a chance – but they showed hunger and desire to win against their more illustrious opponents. This comes after they also dispatched teams like Colville and De Novo in previous rounds of the playoff campaign.
“You must remember that 90 percent of our players come from the Manenberg-area and to showcase their talent against the academies was in itself an achievement for them,” Mentoor told No Bones with Jones.
“Not too long ago these boys were on the streets and did not have a purpose, you know. But they are talented footballers who have dreams of playing in the Bayhill tournament. I know what that means and requires, hence I am making it my duty that they realise their dreams and ambitions.”
Mentoor’s outfit has been drawn in Group A along with Hanover Park FC, Greenwood Athletic and Rebels FC for the final round of the (group stages) playoffs which will be decided this weekend at the William Herbert Sport Complex.
The passionate coach added he is confident about their prospects of getting over the final hurdle and believes that they will be amongst the top two teams from their group that will qualify for the finals in Belhar’s Erica Park over the Easter weekend.
“I think we have a very good chance of progressing to the finals,” Pepza, as Mentoor is called stated. “The difference between my players and those from the academies is they know how to ‘fight’ for one another, they know what they want and to never give up.
“Yes, we don’t have the facilities and nice things that the other privileged clubs have, but they play with their hearts and leave everything on the field – they don’t give up no matter what.
“They play for their ouma’s and aunties and the whole community and that is where they draw inspiration from, you know. What do you think psychologically it does to them? They are hyped up and pumped to give their all,” Mentoor concluded.
Meanwhile president of Manenberg LFA, Ashlam Petersen, could not be prouder of the players as it gives them something to aspire to.
“Look, this academy is nothing new as we did something like this in the past with FC Manenberg,” Petersen explained. “We felt as a collective we are probably stronger and the clubs bought into it. The idea started before Covid already. When I came into leadership a couple of years ago and wanted to revive this initiative. We first tried it out in our own LFA. So, we identify the best talent at our LFA and send them to the academy.
“The aim is then to make them better players and individuals who will contribute positively to society at large. Remember the team also played in the Coke Cup last season. This gave them a good experience and more hunger. With the academies we just need dedicated coaches who can offer the players more time to hone their skills,” Petersen concluded.
