Mntambo – ‘SA Football Heritage Slowly Fading Away’
Sekhukhune United captain Linda Mntambo says South African football heritage is slowly fading away, with the purchasing of PSL statuses and renaming the teams becoming a normal trend in the local football scene.
In recent seasons, the South African top-flight division has lost renowned clubs with a proud and rich history, as teams like Bidvest Wits, Bloemfontein Celtic, and recently SuperSport United, among others, are now defunct.
The Clever Boys were sold to businessman Masala Mulaudzi, who rebranded the club to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila in 2020. Meanwhile, businesswoman Shauwn “MaMkhize” Mkhize acquired the status of Phunya Sele Sele in 2021, while Calvin Le’John recently took over Matsatsantsa a Pitori.
On the other hand, the now-relegated Cape Town City bought the franchise of Mpumalanga Black Aces and relocated the team to the mother city in 2016. Moreover, Marumo Gallants made their way back to the elite league after buying Moroka Swallows’ status last year.
With the purchasing of PSL statuses seemingly normalized, the former Orlando Pirates midfielder shared his thoughts on the practice and evolution of the local game, stating that South African football is slowly losing its identity.
“I don’t want to get into that space because I don’t know what’s going on, but what I can say is that I think South African football heritage is slowly fading away because teams are [being sold and have names changed],” said Mntambo.
“When you look at Bidvest Wits, 99 years old, and they left. SuperSport United again, it’s not nice to see these teams sell their status, but again, it’s business. I think maybe for financial reasons it’s not profitable [to run a football club], I don’t know.”
The 36-year-old playmaker continued: “I don’t want to comment a lot about that because I don’t know what happens in that space.”
Mntambo and Babina Noko will commence their 2025/26 season with an MTN8 quarterfinal clash against TS Galaxy at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday. The match is scheduled to kick off at 18:00.
Having bolstered the squad with experienced players such as Miguel Timm and Bradley Grobler, among others, Eric Tinkler will be keen to help the Limpopo club break its hoodoo of failing to go past the first round of the top eight competition.
