By Jimmy Masingi
alexlifebeginat40@gmail.com
Recently, the Alexandra Northrand Local Football Association (LFA) held it’s General election whereby Malvern Khumalo, chairman of the only ladies team in Alex, Blue Birds retained his position as a Secretary General.
Khumalo is a young person born and raised in the dusty street of Gomora, as Alex is fondly named.
He was a soccer player with a team called Moroka Lions. A few years later, he decided to give up football and concentrate on coaching.
His passion led to the creation of Blue Birds.
When Mashamba Media asked him how his love for sport began, he said, “Football is my life and I live, eat and sleep football for my whole life.
“I started playing football when I was young, until I decided to stop playing. That’s when I thought about starting my own team. When I was managing my team, I joined Alex LFA as an administrator in 2010.”
Khumalo said he joined the association because he wanted to learn the logistics and fully understand how to manage the football and administration part of it.
Since the inception of Blue Birds, Khumalo has discovered the talent and produced skilled players who have continued to play for big teams such as Sundowns Ladies and Banyana-Banyana respectfully.
He said that the work of the administration exposed him to a great deal concerning the management of football affairs.
In 2017, the affairs of the LFA deteriorated and the executive committee was dissolved. The new committee was chosen, which enabled Khumalo to maintain his position as general secretary of the association.
When we asked him what his initial mandate was, he said:
“It was a very difficult period, because we were entering a collapsed office and the expectations were very high and we had very big shoes to fill.
“We had to normalize the situation in a short space of time. In 2018, it was our first year in office and while we were starting to find ourselves, Covid 19 disrupted all our plans.
“This was a very difficult period for football and the country as a whole. We only returned to office in 2021. It was a two wasted years of football until recently in March where we held our election to choose a new office.”
He said the elections ran smoothly according to the plan, adding that the constitution, all protocols and processes were properly followed.
“All I can say is that this year the election was strongly contested in comparison to previous years. However, our election was free and fair.”
He concluded the new administration of the LFA wants to bring back that football vibe in the township.
“We also need to promise the community of Alex and football loving people that we are going to serve them with honor and pride. Football will be the order of the day.”
