Mamelodi Sundowns assistant coach Steve Komphela has insisted Masandawana represent all of Africa at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup but also posed the question over the lack of black African coaches at the tournament.
Komphela and the team jetted out to the United States on Sunday but briefly addressed local journalists, including iDiski Times’ Lorenz Kohler.
Sundowns are drawn in Group F, alongside Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan HD and Fluminense, and Komphela used the platform to raise awareness for lack of African coaches at the Club World Cup.
“I think this is bigger than football, this is deeper than football, not only bigger, but deeper than football,” he stated.
“And I don’t want to be controversial, but I have to be very realistic. We we are going to be at the Club World Cup. There’s gonna be a lot of clubs available there,” he continued.
“And maybe one must throw a question to audit – let’s check where the world is with regards to how many typical Africans or black coaches would be there.
“It’s not, it’s not a bad question. It’s not controversial, but it is a true reflection of where the world stands with regards to football. So why I’m going there? It also points at not only the players, not only the game, also to the coaches, that there has to be a platform created for African coaches to enjoy the highest and the biggest stages of the football in the world.”
Komphela also insisted his side do not only represent Mzansi, but everyone from Africa who cannot be there.
“And also saying to the players that come from Africa, whether it’s your players from up north or even here in the south, let’s go out there and embrace this as a World Cup. When we’re going through preparation, as I was observing and thinking about, Steve, where are you guys going? I got a feeling it’s like South Africa was going to Korea, Japan, or South Africa was going to play in Germany 2006 or South Africa was going to play in Brazil 2014 – this is a World Cup.
“It’s only that it’s World Cup for clubs, but the mandate and the theme remains the same. We are going to sell an African product. We are going to compete with the rest of the world, but we as Africans, what are we bringing on the table?
“And it should not only be Mamelodi Sundowns going out to the Club World Cup to compete, it should be an African team. When they profile us, if the Asians, I’m saying Asians, I’m not saying Ulsan, f the Brazilians, I’m not saying Flamingo, I’m saying Brazilians, the Germans, the Europeans, I’m not saying Borussia Dortmund, when they profile us, they don’t profile Mamelodi Sundowns only, they go deeper and profile the African athlete – the qualities, characteristics, weaknesses and strengths of an African team, and then they’ll go deeper into the detail of every individual.
“We cannot move away from the fact that we are African, and our qualities and characteristics will forever remain African. So as we go out there and export this culture, this sport, we are going to reflect on what African football is all about, and we could not be far from what Africans stand for in terms of playing the game. So that’s one thing we have to be mindful about when you go to the Club World Cup.
“When we land in the US, they’re not gonna say this is a Club World Cup team, they’re gonna say this is an African team. We are African, and we need to take pride in that. And I’ve been posing a question to some of our players, saying to them, sometimes we don’t go deep enough to discover the purpose of what we are doing.
“I think we take things so light. This is just one of those matches, one of those tournaments. No, it’s bigger and deeper than that. An African team going to campaign in the World Cup of teams. There’s an African team that’s holding a flag; we are going there to represent Africans. And we have to reflect that.
“In my opinion, the quality of the t shirt that I’m wearing in the tracksuit, if Borussia Dortmund move or anybody else is sponsored by Puma, the quality must be the same. It should never be that when they offer apparel to an African team, it has to be of inferior quality. The respect must be equal. So, which is what I’m saying.
“And when I stand next to another colleague or counterpart who comes from a different continent as an African, I must also feel represented, and I must stand there with pride, knowing that I’m also human. There’s a lot that we fighting. It’s not only football.
“The biggest mistake we make in our lives is to consider sport a sport. It is a war, that is sport without weapons, where we fight for the people who cannot be there. All Africans who cannot be in the World Cup are going to be represented by us, and we have to make sure that we represent them well.
“The myth and the misconception of the world thinks Africa is one country, big mistake. We must teach that. The world thinks Africa is about poverty, disease and all this. We have to get rid of such myths.
“So, when you go out there and stand as an African, you must stand tall with pride and forget the background and all that had happened. You stand here to represent Africans, and we have to be proud. And Sundowns is taking that to the world.”
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