U&I have been crowned champions of Mandela Park Local Football Association for the first time in their existence, clinching the title with a six point lead over defending champions Royal Citizens – and honouring the beloved coach they lost this year.
When U&I FC founding manager and coach Sakhele “Sakie” Aba was brutally gunned down in July, the sporting fraternity was shattered, and there were concerns about the club’s future.
Two months later, U&I have been crowned as the champions of Mandela Park Local Football Association for the first time in their existence, clinching the title with a 12 point lead over defending champions Royal Citizens.
“It wasn’t easy at all, but we won the league this year,” said Yamkela Nojilili, a senior U&I player. “It was the wish of our late ‘father’ Sakhele Aba to win the league this year, and we made promises that we would fight for this trophy. And now we have realized it. Everyone in the club is very happy about this victory.”
The 26-year-old Nojilili, who plays as a defender for the club, said the main thing that helped the team to succeed was not to focus on other teams but on their own games.
“We took one game at a time and every game we played we took it as a final game. We told ourselves that we need to collect maximum points and we worked as a team from the first game to the last.
It’s what Aba would have wanted.
“After we lost our club manager, we told ourselves that we should work hard not just for the team but for him, so that he can continue to rest in peace. Everything we did as a team we did for him.”
The club will now represent Mandela Park in the Safa Cape Town LFA Playoffs scheduled to take place next month.
And Yamza, as Nojilili is affectionately called, believes they are more than ready for the challenge.
“U&I FC is one of the teams that got good players, and our preparations are going well. And as I said earlier, we weren’t doing this for a team but for our late manager’s wishes. And we will continue to fight in the playoffs, and make him proud.”
Edited by Nicklaus Kruger
