Alex resident and coach of Bidvest Wits U17 development side, Caesar Maphalla is riding the crest of a wave.
Maphalla, former Kaizer Chiefs teammate of the late Isaac Shakes Kungwane and coach of Safa Second Division side FC Alexandra, was named coach of the tournament of the Gauteng leg of the annual Engen U17 Knockout Challenge at Emmerentia’s Marks Park Stadium.
His team played brilliant football which saw them beat the likes of Orlando Pirates on the road to the final. Unfortunately, SuperSport United beat them 4-3 on penalties to collect the winners’ trophy.
Despite the loss, Maphalla’s Bidvest Wits has also qualified for the newly-introduced element of the tournament, the Champ of Champs which will be contested by the five winners of the regional tournaments in five cities – Bloemfontein, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town.
SuperSport United automatically qualified for the Champ of Champs tournament in Soweto on 10 to 12 October by virtue of being the hosts. As runners-up of the knockout challenge, this opened the door for Bidvest Wits to qualify as the sixth team in the tournament.
Maphalla, who joined Bidvest Wits in February this year, said he was delighted to have been recognised as a coach of the tournament in just less than five months at the helm of the team. “This speaks to the coaching skills in me, and I am happy someone somewhere has seen this and decided to recognise it for its worth.”
The newly-established Alexandra Football Academy under the tutelage of Mxolisi Mngomezulu who is also the technical director of Alex football, was invited to take part in the qualifying preliminary rounds of the tournament, but was knocked out early.
