After many years in the football wilderness, Lamontville Golden Arrows have been promoted to the Premier Soccer League Merryman Kunene If Lamontville Golden Arrows’ ascendancy to the Premier Soccer League was a straight- forward issue of clinching the MTN First Division Coastal Stream crown, then staying in the company of the elite boys will require much more than passion and support of the people of Lamontville. Statistics show that since the inception of the premier league, for every two teams relegated to the first division, one is from KwaZulu-Natal. The scales have tilted for the worse this season. Two teams from the region, African Wanderers and Golden Arrows, are early candidates for the axe, believe some Durban-based soccer fans who witnessed the demise of another regional giant, AmaZulu, at the end of last season. “I think Arrows and African Wanderers will be relegated at the end of the season,” said Durbanite Philani Nkwankwa. Most people living in the area support AmaZulu or Gauteng-based sides – thus such harsh sentiments could be blamed on regional rivalry. But Nkwankwa’s words are based on experience not sentiment, he says. “Local teams suffer from poor organisation and most of them are in the hands of individuals who do not want to involve other people in the administration of the sides.”
Golden Arrows could fall into this category as the Madlala family seems to have a stranglehold on the team. The team was originally owned by the late Melika Madlala, who founded it in 1943 as an amateur club with their now-legendary green, gold and white colours. Arrows were affiliated to the Durban and District Football Association controlling body and later joined the Bantu Football Association in the 1960s. Their most successful year was 1971 as they claimed the Challenge Shield, an equivalent of the Castle League, beating the then- famous Durban Bush Bucks (now languishing in the second division). No sooner had they became champions than problems started and they were relegated at the end of the 1972 season. In 1973 their problems were further compounded by a split in the team, which led to the departure of the team’s general manager, Layton Makhathini. With Madlala at the helm, Arrows clawed their way back to the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). However, the honeymoon was short-lived as the team was relegated again in 1976. This setback seemed to be the last straw for the Abafana Bes’thende (The back-heel boys) as they are popularly known in the townships. They went into virtual extinction until a few years ago, when general manager Rocky and chair Manto Madlala bought the franchise of Thokoza FC and renamed it Golden Arrows. The old Arrows would claim to have made a significant contribution to the history of South African football, with products like Henry “Black Cat” Cele of Shaka Zulu fame, Aubrey “Ngi” Mpanza, Mojo Sondezi, Popo Zungu, Thiza Thwala and the mercurial Cecil Ciliza who later joined Kaizer Chiefs. Mantho Madlala says she is very excited about the prospect of reviving her late father’s dream and thinks the people of Lamontville will oblige by supporting the team. “We want everyone in the township to look up to the team as a way of rebuilding the community and ultimately as a form of entertainment.”
The spectre of relegation and lack of sponsorship highlights the harsh realities faced by this newly promoted side. It seems mere mention of the word relegation is enough to annoy Madlala, who watched her father’s anguish through all the difficult years. Whenever she is reminded about the history of teams from KwaZulu-Natal and their subsequent demise, she gets very defensive. “I really hate that statement. It is not just teams from KZN that have problems in the premier league,” she says. “It is a question of money and sponsorship, and presently eight teams in the league are without sponsors – three of them from KwaZulu-Natal.”
Soccer sponsorship in South Africa has become a major bone of contention as corporate financiers like Vodacom continue to pour big money into selected teams and events, largely ignoring provinces like KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga, which also make a huge contribution to their balance sheets. They might argue that sponsoring a team like Arrows will not give them the kind of mileage derived from powerhouses like Chiefs and Pirates, yet the two Soweto giants cannot compete between themselves throughout the year. The Madlalas remain positive though that with or without sponsors Arrows will last the course. However, Nkwankwa thinks that KwaZulu-Natal teams must change the way they administer clubs and move with modern trends, like inviting corporate backers, without diminishing the township support base. “Individually owned teams will continue to suffer and no sane company will want to invest money where administration structures are not clearly defined,” he says.
The Arrows chair is still sceptical about inviting strangers into her living room after seeing boxing promoters and rugby personalities ruin AmaZulu. Whether she has chosen the right path time will tell, but for now she hopes the Afabana Bes’thende will keep the Lamontville faithful enthralled.