We're not just losing a team

Ricardo Katza is a name that carries serious weight in South African football circles. As a former captain and club legend at SuperSport United, Katza has served the Tshwane outfit for over 15 years, nine as a player and another six as a coach and scout. With the recent sale of SuperSport United to Siwelele FC sparking widespread debate and uncertainty, Soccer Laduma's Delmain Faver caught up with Katza to unpack the significance of the move. The former Bafana Bafana defender opens up about his concerns for the club's academy, its legacy, and what it all means for South African football going forward.

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Ricardo Katza: Look, for me, if it was a business transaction, then there’s nothing you can do. If you haven’t been around the club for the last year or so, and you don’t actually know what’s going on behind the scenes, then I don’t think that we should say anything about it, you know? I’m more concerned about the academy, because the SuperSport United academy has been the academy that has produced probably, not the most, but has been consistently producing players that play in the first team. It’s more about that. I’ve worked at the club for 15 years, and nine years of playing, six years as a coach. I would put the academy above the club, above the first team, because that’s where I found more joy and that’s where I actually saw what the club was all about. So, for me, the concern is obviously the academy.

DF: You mentioned the importance of that academy. If South African football loses that academy, what are we essentially losing as a country?

RK: We're not just losing a team; we're losing a development structure that has consistently produced players throughout the time that it’s been around. I know this is a question about the club, but I feel like that part of the club is special. It’s not like a Mamelodi Sundowns academy where you don’t see a lot of kids coming through like they come through from SuperSport United. It’s not like Orlando Pirates or any other team where they buy players. SuperSport actually take players, get them in at a young age, and develop them. They go through U10s, U15s, U17s - they had the youngest team that won the league. And most of those players went on to play for the first team or other clubs. So, that is what I think that we're losing, because those players are also playing in the national U20 and U17 teams. Where are those kids going to come from, because at SuperSport you do get the platform to play as a youngster.