We got to the top at the right time

Winning automatic promotion to the Betway Premiership for Kruger United was not only about what happened on the pitch. Off the pitch, the club put together a team of individuals who played a role in making sure that the team was running properly to achieve their goals this season. One of those individuals is Sporting Director Elasto Kapowezha, a man with tons of experience from working at various clubs since retiring from the game many years ago. Kruger won promotion and now Kapowezha has the big task of ensuring they are well prepared for the top-flight. Soccer Laduma’s Tshepang Mailwane met up with Kruger’s Sporting Director to talk about how the club managed to win promotion to the Betway Premiership and what the plans are for the upcoming campaign.

- Tshepang Mailwane

Tshepang Mailwane: Elasto, congratulations on being a part of Kruger United’s promotion-winning season in the Motsepe Foundation Championship. As a Sporting Director, what does your role entail at the club?

Elasto Kapowezha: Firstly, thank you for congratulating the team. We are proud and happy to finally have a professional team in the top-flight from Bushbuckridge. It’s the first of its kind, so it’s a historic milestone for the club. We are happy that we achieved what we set out to achieve. There was a lot of work, so credit to everyone. Everyone played their part, including the supporters who came out to support and rallied behind the club. Let’s come to your question about the Sporting Director and I like it when you say Kruger United. I say this because a Sporting Director at Kruger and at another club might mean different things. To be specific, I am the link between the technical team and management.

TM: Right...

EK: I am responsible for the football operations of the club. I am responsible for roles like recruitment of players and recruitment of the technical team and the way the squad is planned. Anything that has to do with the football club normally falls under my umbrella. A Sporting Director role is a long-term process, and we are not always accustomed to it in South Africa. A Sporting Director does not think about today; he thinks about tomorrow. He thinks long-term. A coach’s plate is full, so a Sporting Director takes away these duties because a coach can’t be running around trying to sign a player. A Sporting Director protects the club’s vision. The owner does not have the time to be running the day-to-day operations of the club. That’s where a Sporting Director comes in.

TM: That means you played a role in the appointment of coach Abram Mongoya, who returned to the club early in the past season after Vusumuzi Vilakazi started the campaign as head coach?