Topping the Alexandra Northrand Local Football Association Promotional League is no easy feat for United Stars, but the Ward 81 side is determined to hang in there for promotion to the Hollywood Bets Johannesburg Men’s Regional League by the end of the season.
Founded in 2010 just after the Fifa World Cup in South Africa by its president Sakhile Zulu (45), Stars tops the league with 21 points from seven games played so far and has won six of them and drew one.
“Seeing the young boys roaming around the streets of Alexandra and immersing themselves in beer and cigarettes and other morally unsavoury substances, I decided that the only way to contribute to the well-being of my society is through what I know best, sports, and especially soccer.
“It all came through after I decided to start something that would leave a lasting legacy for the community of Alexandra, especially the vulnerable children of this iconic township that has contributed immensely to the arts, sports and politics of Mzansi,” said Zulu, who’s fondly known in football circles by his clan’s name of Mageba.
Zulu said the aim was to bring the boys together not just to play soccer but to teach them life skills as well so they could navigate the treacherous life journey to grow and become responsible citizens and leaders of the country.
The club consists of many divisions, those being the U10, U13, U15, U17, U19 and the senior team now in the promotional league and whose United Stars come from Zulu’s vision of uniting different nations of children within the township.
“I had a calling to unite small boys and inject a holistic development of the boy child to grow and become a great man and a great leader. It is where boys become men in terms of sports and education where we help and groom them to become successful.”
Zulu said most of the boys were at colleges and some were playing at the ABC Motsepe League and that he hopes in the not-too-distant future he will have some of his football prodigies playing in a professional setup.
The boys in the promotional league have been there since 2019 when they were still youngsters. “I have been grooming them for this league and now they seem to have matured and are ready to take the challenges head-on and I am certain they will pass the test with flying colours come the end of the season.”
Last season, Zulu said the River Park-based side finished in the Top 8 and ‘I knew they were primed for the following season and hence they top league currently though it is still a long way to go but I hope they can hang in there till the end’.
Zulu said the Hollywood bets League was a different kettle of fish altogether that requires good skills in management and administration. The league also involves a lot of travelling coupled with high expenses on the registration of the team and players, payment of referees’ fees, costs for players’ medicals etc, Mageba added.
Mageba believes sponsors are needed if one is to succeed in that league and Alex teams need to support each other. “If there is a team with potential for promotion, we should all rally behind that team and ensure it moves a rung up the ladder. This is for our own good as a township.”
