Will the Birds fly this season?

It is often said at the end of a bad patch, something good usually emerges and this could be the case this season with the Bluebirds Ladies of Alexandra.

The Beautiful Lady Birds of Alexandra, as they are fondly known to their avid fans, are fast approaching a decade in the Sasol Women’s League having debuted in 2014 but still have very little to show for it in their six years of campaigning in this league.

The team has since acquired the services of experienced Alex coach Buti Phiri, father of Bafana Bafana star Lebogang Phiri, to do his bit in an effort to help take the team to another level.

Phiri senior has had coaching stints with many clubs in Alexandra and his last assignment before joining the Birds was with Malandela Mighty Heroes who ply their trade in the SAB League.

Speaking in an interview with Alex News, team administrator Katlego ‘KG’ Malaka said he was happy with the pre-season preparations of the team under coach Phiri and was looking forward to an interesting, if not a fruitful season, for the Birds despite the fact that they hardly kicked a ball in a competitive league for close to a year now.

Following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic early last year, the country immediately went into lockdown on 26 March.

This forced the South African Football Association to cancel the 2020 season of the Sasol League after only a handful of games had been played. “We have been battling to get the full attendance of players to preseason training sessions as most of them are doing matric but I am confident of a reasonably sound season judging from the tactics of coach Phiri,” Malaka said.

The strength of the team was further bolstered with the return of former star goal-minder Siphesihle Madala from greener pastures. “We have not been given a mandate for this season due to lack of activity in the amateur football front for over a year due to Covid-19 but we’re hopeful of finishing inside the top eight bracket,” Malaka added.

Malaka said they were expecting a ‘tough and difficult’ season ahead due to the inactiveness of the players over the past 12 months, coupled with financial constraints the team battles with the year in and year out.

“We’re a resilient side prepared to face all our challenges head-on and with all that, we are still hopeful that something positive will emerge. “Good always triumphs over evil and we too shall conquer.”