Chippa coach Mammila looking to inspire ‘black kids’ to be coaches

Chippa United coach Morgan Mammila says him being a coach in the professional ranks is a way to show any young black kid that it is possible to be a coach, even when you have never played football.

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Mammila is in his second stint as the head coach of Chippa, with his first appointment having comelast year when he took over from Daine Klate. He is not the only coach in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) who has never played football, with Mamelodi Sundowns mentor Rulani Mokwena having also stated that he has never played.

The former football administrator had a good start in first coaching gig, as he managed to steer the Chilli Boys to four consecutive wins.

But, the wheels started coming off and he was eventually fired because of poor results late last season.

But now he is back at the club and looking to inspire young kids.

“I am the man in the hottest seat for two reasons. Firstly, I’m a coach who has never played football and who is from nowhere. Secondly I’m the coach who is coaching the only professional team in the province. That makes it difficult for me,” said Mammila at the DStv Premiership launch in Johannesburg this week.

“But my biggest task is to show a black child out there that even if you haven’t played professional football … the opportunity like this is for all of us, I’m not here to let them down. I’m here to make it possible for them and show them I can do this and give them hope that they can also do this (coach even if they haven’t played football).”

Having taken the team through pre-season, Mammila says he is happy with how things have panned out so far and there are lots of positives from what he saw from his players.

“To be honest we had better preparation than last season,” he added.

“We haven’t played a competitive match yet, but we played some friendly games and there were good signs from those matches. And overall I’m happy with the progress.”

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Chippa’s first game of the season is against Kaizer Chiefs at Moses Mabhida Stadium on 5 August.