The Nedbank Cup is a special time for the ‘small’ clubs
|Published
JOHANNESBURG – For the football romantics, the Nedbank Cup is a magical tournament which is quite fitting that it will start in February - the month of love.
Chippa United will kick off the tournament on Wednesday next week against the reigning champions, GladAfrica Championship side TS Galaxy.
The tale of TS Galaxy’s success is a moving story, perfectly highlighting what makes this tournament great.
The club wasn’t even a year old when they stunned South Africa’s most successful team, Kaizer Chiefs, in the Nedbank Cup final last year in Durban.
The club was formed after Tim Sukazi bought the status of Cape Town All Stars. He hadn’t even fully assembled the team when they received their fixtures for the 2018/19 season. But by the time that season ended, they were champions of the most prestigious knockout competition in the country.
Galaxy then went and represented South Africa in the CAF Confederation Cup, becoming the first team to do so while still campaigning in the National First Division.
Galaxy goalkeeper and captain Ludwe Mpakumpaku was disappointed when he returned to the Rockets as he was on the verge of playing top-flight football with Chippa United.
He begrudgingly returned to the club that he was still contracted to. He started the season on the bench as he was away for the most part of pre-season. He had to fight for the No 1 jersey and by the end of the season he was a champion.
“Maybe I stayed this long in this league (first division) to achieve things,” Mpakumpaku said lifting the Nedbank Cup.
“I am the first NFD captain to lift this cup. It’s a big achievement for the team. This team has only been in existence for a couple of months yet we have achieved something this great.”
This is the beauty of the Nedbank Cup. It has the power to make superstars overnight.
There are a number of players who have changed their lives after a good performance in the tournament.
TS Galaxy have inspired the country’s lower division teams into believing they too can win the country’s premier club knockout competition. Photo: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
There are some interesting names of the clubs from the lower leagues who will be making an appearance in this year’s tournament. Passion FC, Amavarara, Zizwe United, Happy Wanderers and Hungry Lions are some of the amateur sides who will have their moment in the sun.
The motivation will be different this year after Galaxy’s win, as the “minnows” will believe they can also etch their names on the cup.
While the minnows will be armed with their slings, the big guns will be looking at this tournament as an opportunity to finish the season with something.
The first two trophies are already in Pretoria, with SuperSport United having won the MTN8 and Sundowns the Telkom Knockout.
It remains to be seen who will be celebrating when the curtain falls in May.