amazulu fc?

This article is about the South African football club. For the Zimbabwean club, see Amazulu FC (Zimbabwe).
AmaZulu Football Club
Full name AmaZulu Football Club
Nickname(s) Usuthu, Amaqhawe (Heroes)
Founded 1932; 92 years ago (as Zulu Royals)
Ground Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban
Capacity 52,000
Chairman Sandile Zungu
Coach Pablo Franco Martin
League DStv Premiership
2022–23 12th of 16
Website Club website
Club crest of AmaZulu used until 2009

AmaZulu Football Club (Simply often known as AmaZulu) is a South African professional soccer club based in the city of Durban in the KwaZulu Natal province, that plays in the Premier Soccer League the first-tier of South African football league system. The club’s nickname, Usuthu, is a Zulu war cry.

History

Early history (1932–1973)

One of the oldest clubs in South Africa, AmaZulu was formed by Zulu migrant workers in 1932 and originally named Zulu Royal Conquerors. The club was then introduced to then Zulu king Solomon, who changed the team’s name to Zulu Royals, their colours to royal blue and white, and also introduced the shield to their logo.

Initially Prince Bayisikili was placed as the team guardian at eMsizini and later replaced by Prince Sithela and the team’s headquarter was at the eMbelebeleni Royal Kraal by then the team colours had changed to bottle green and white. On the day of King Bhekizulu’s funeral in the year 1968, the team went to play a Cup game against SAPPI Homestars at eMandeni, which they lost 4–2. On the day of the funeral the club was supposed to escort the King’s coffin but Mr. Shezi, Mr. Nsele, Mr. Magwaza ended up escorting the King wearing the team’s uniform.

After that game an argument had broken up between the supporters of the club because some of them including Prince Sithela criticized the fact that, how could the team play a game on the day of the funeral of the Zulu King, when the team was supposed to mourn the King’s death. The continuation of the argument led to Mr Gideon Sibiya and Mr. Ntuli who accompanied the club to eMandeni decided to take the club away from eMbelebeleni to eWema and then it was no longer recognized at the eMbelebeleni Royal Kraal

At the end of 1970 the remaining committee members consisting of Mr Mkhize and Mr Ralph Mabaso decided to rebuild the team from scratch, recruited players, acquired a kit and appointed Mr Bethuel Masondo as the team manager. The committee went on to register the club as Zulu Royals United and Mr. Bethuel Masondo was the sole director. They decided to take the team back to eMbelebeleni Royal Kraal as its headquarters.

In 1971 a team called African Wanderers which was located in Kwa-Zulu Natal were experiencing problems while playing in the National Professional League (NPSL) which led the NPSL to take a decision that the Kwa-Zulu Natal Football Association must suspend African Wanderers from the NPSL and then recommend another team from Kwa-Zulu Natal to replace them. The Kwa-Zulu Natal Football Association then recommended the following teams: Union Jacks, Durban City All Black, Zulu Royals United or Young Dribblers.

The National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) at that time chairman, Mr RD Sishi, decided that Zulu Royal’s United must replace African Wanderers in the NPSL because Zulu Royals was a team which represented the Zulu Nation from the Royal Kraal and that it has a support base more than the clubs that were recommended

In 1971 Zulu Royals replaced African Wanderers and went on to finish 6th on the log and were voted club of the year. The following year in 1972 the club won the N.P.S.L league title securing 44 points from 26 matches and only losing 2 games.

In 1973 Zulu Royal suffered a huge set back when the then manager Mr. Bethwell Masondo left the club and took with him several prominent players which split the club. After this unfortunate incident the club went into a mid-season slump that would see them not being able to successful defend their league title. In 1974, the running of the club was taken over by the supporters and in the same year, the team changed to AmaZulu Football Club, a term which simple means “Zulu people.” Some supporters led by Mr. Francis Dlamini who managed the reserve team decided to part ways with the reserve team to Bhekizulu hall and renamed back Zulu Royals United and its nickname were esikotshi”. Other Directors that followed were Mr, Manana and Mr. Nxumalo who bought the team for R 4000.00, Mr. Merikan Madlala from Lamontville, then followed a committee made of Mr. Ngongoma, Mr. Duma, Mr. Mathe, Mr. Dlamini, Mr. Biyela and Nhleko.

The formation of the NSL and name changes (1985–2002)

In 1985 the National Soccer League was formed and AmaZulu entered a new phase of their history under the leadership of Mr. David Dlamini. In 1987, Clive Barker coached AmaZulu FC to finals of mainstay Cup and Iwisa Charity Cup, where they were narrowly defeated twice by Kaizer Chiefs. In 1990 the club reached the Bob Save Super Bowl final which they lost with a last minute goal against Jomo Cosmos, in 1992 the club won the inauguration Coca-Cola Cup and finished 3rd on the log in 1993.

After Mr. Dlamini then followed Spar Natal, Mr. Ncanana, Mr. Dan Naidoo, Mr. Mike Segal, Mr. Dave King after him was Mr Sisa Bikisha in 2002, who then changed the name AmaZulu F.C to Zulu Royal.

Sokhela ownership (2005–2020)

In 2005, Dr Patrick Sokhela bought the team from Mr Sisa Bikisha, decided to revive the once mighty outfit of the Zulus by renaming the team back to AmaZulu Football Club. He and immediately bought the Premier Soccer League status of Dynamos to return the club to the top flight.To commemorate the club’s 80th anniversary in 2012 AmaZulu played a friendly against English giants Manchester United on 18 July 2012 losing by a solitary goal scored by Federico Macheda.

AmaZulu was relegated in the 2014–15 season. After a failure to be promoted in the 2016–17 season they rejoined the Premier Soccer League by purchasing the Thanda Royal Zulu’s Premier Soccer League Status.

After purchasing their PSL status, the team finished 7th in the 2017–18 season, however they were stripped of the Top 8 finish when Ajax Cape Town fielded Tendai Ndoro in matches against Platinum Stars, Polokwane City & Supersport United. This resulted in Ajax Cape Town losing all three matches 3–0 & fined R50 000 on each offence, and AmaZulu dropping to 9th position in the 2017–18 season.

On 28 September 2018 it was announced by the PSL that AmaZulu would be docked 6 points for failure to comply with a ruling made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in September 2017. The matter surrounded the illegal termination of the contract of a former player, Phinheas Nambandi, in 2014 Nambandi took the club to FIFA to contest the termination of his contract, with FIFA ruling that the termination was illegal and that the club were to pay an amount of R1‚086,000.00. AmaZulu appealed the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, however, the decision was upheld. A year later the club had still failed to pay the outstanding figure to Phinheas Nambandi, this resulted in FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee ruling that should the club not settle the debt with the player by 16 September 2018, 6 points would be deducted.

The club had a turbulent 2019–20 season, with two coaches being fired and the club’s PSL status secured by the coaching combination of Ayanda Dlamini and Moeneeb Josephs. AmaZulu started the season poorly under Cavin Johnson and his assistant Alan Clark, with the team sitting on 2 points after 5 games. The decision was made by club management to fire the coaching duo, with Jozef Vukusic coming in as the club’s new head coach. The team seemed to have turned a corner under Vukusic’s mentorship, however, they started the second half of the season poorly and it was decided that change was needed in order to save the club from relegation. Vukusic was suspended, with assistant coach Ayanda Dlamini being given the role as interim head coach, and Moeneeb Josephs being installed as his assistant. Dlamini managed to save the club from relegation, with the team finishing 13th, and going undefeated in his 5 home games in charge. What made this achievement even more impressive is that the AmaZulu ownership had implemented salary cuts on all their staff, which they cited as being associated with the COVID-19 pandemic – this despite the fact that the club continued to receive its full monthly grant from the PSL. The club received backlash for the manner in which the salary cuts were handled from the SA Football Players’ Union.

The Zungu era (2020–present)

On 2 October 2020, it was announced that businessman Sandile Zungu had purchased AmaZulu from Patrick Sokhela.From the outset, the new ownership laid out a 12-year plan that would see the club climb in stock and standing within South African football. As part of achieving this plan, Zungu brought in Benni McCarthy as Head Coach, with Siyabonga Nomvethe and McCarthy’s former assistant from Cape Town City, Vasili Manousakis joining the club as assistant coaches this saw the redeployment of Ayanda Dlamini to the club youth structures and the mutual termination of Allan Freese’s contract. Further to this, Moeneeb Josephs was brought in as the new first team goalkeeper coach, replacing long term employee Davies Phiri; and, Justin Hamburger was brought in to join the Performance Analysis department alongside Pilela Maposa.

In his maiden season as the owner of AmaZulu, Sandile Zungu saw his team finish 2nd behind Mamelodi Sundowns and subsequently qualify for the 1st preliminary round of the CAF Champions League. The team beat Nyasa Big Bullets in the preliminary round with a 3-2 aggregate. AmaZulu progressed to the 2nd preliminary round facing African giants, TP Mazembe, with AmaZulu qualifying for the group stages of the competition after a 1-1 aggregate, going through on away goals. AmaZulu are the seventh team from South Africa to progress beyond the preliminary stages of Africa’s showpiece club competition.[31]

Facilities

The club currently train and have their administrative offices at Moses Mabhida Stadium. The technical team have their offices based inside Prime Human Performance Institute. The club also utilizes the performance facilities at Prime.

The club plays their home games out of Moses Mabhida Stadium, which is based in Durban.

Tertiary Institution Cooperation

The High-Performance Manager of AmaZulu, Joshua Smith, played a key role in the formation of an externship program with the University of KwaZulu-Natal Biokinetics, Sports and Leisure Science department in 2019. The link sees biokinetics and exercise science honours students from the university assist with AmaZulu youth training sessions and physical testing. The link between the two organisations enters its 4th year in 2022.

Further to their link with UKZN, it was announced on 15 December 2020 by AmaZulu’s High-Performance Manager, Joshua Smith, that a formal link between Usuthu and the International Soccer Science and Performance Federation (ISSPF) had been finalized, with the ISSPF becoming the official educational partner of the team.

Current squad

As of 26 January, 2024
 
No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK RSA Olwethu Mzimela
2 DF  RSA Abbubaker Mobara
5 DF  RSA Thembela Sikhakhane
8 MF  RSA Ben Motshwari
9 FW  NGA Augustine Chidi Kwem
11 FW  NIG Victorien Adebayor
12 MF RSA George Maluleka
14 DF  NAM Riaan Hanamub
15 DF  RSA Mondli Mbanjwa
17 DF  RSA Mbongeni Gumede
18 MF RSA Ethan Brooks
20 MF RSA Celimpilo Ngema
 
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 MF  RSA Rowan Human
23 DF  RSA Ramahlwe Mphahlele
24 DF  RSA Veluyeke Zulu
26 DF  RSA Wayde Jooste
27 MF  RSA Hendrick Ekstein
28 FW  RSA Victor Letsoalo
30 FW  RSA Msindisi Ndlovu
33 FW  CIV Junior Dion
36 MF RSA Mxolisi Kunene
38 GK  RSA Andile Mbanjwa
43 DF  RSA Taariq Fielies
44 GK  RSA Veli Mothwa

Players on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

 
No. Pos. Nation Player

Personnel[edit]

Head coach history

As of 17 Dec 2023
Name Date Appointed Date Dismissed Time in office Matches Points per match
Pablo Franco Martin 20 June 2023 – – – –
Ayanda Dlamini (Interim) 04 Apr 2023 01 June 2023 58 Days 6 0,83
Romain Folz 09 Oct 2022 04 Apr 2023 177 Days 19 1,11
Brandon Truter 28 Mar 2022 06 Oct 2022 193 Days 18 1,56
Benni McCarthy 14 Dec 2020 25 March 2022 466 Days 60 1,52
Allan Freese (Interim) 7 Dec 2020 17 Dec 2020 11 Days 1 0
Ayanda Dlamini 4 Mar 2020 7 Dec 2020 275 Days 13 1,23
Jozef Vukušič 17 Sept 2019 3 Mar 2020 168 Days 20 0,90
Cavin Johnson 8 Aug 2017 16 Sept 2019 769 Days 71 1,17
Joey Antipas 1 Jul 2016 8 Aug 2017 403 Days – –
Delron Buckley  (Interim) 18 Apr 2016 30 Jun 2016 73 Days – –
Steve Barker 23 Nov 2014 18 Apr 2016 512 Days – –
Wilfred Mugeyi  (Interim) 15 Oct 2014 22 Nov 2014 38 Days 5 0,20
Craig Rosslee 29 Nov 2012 15 Oct 2014 685 Days 57 1,25
Roger Palmgren 19 Sep 2011 26 Nov 2012 434 Days 41 1,24
Manqoba Mngqithi 1 Jul 2010 19 Sep 2011 445 Days 36 0,89
Neil Tovey 1 Jul 2009 28 Jun 2010 362 Days 33 1,27
Clive Barker 1 Jul 2007 30 Jun 2009 730 Days 59 1,27
Júlio César Leal 31 Jan 2007 30 Jun 2007 150 Days – –
Reggie Shelembe Interim) 30 Nov 2006 30 Jan 2007 61 Days 7 1,00
Clive Barker 1 Jul 2006 29 Nov 2006 151 Days 10 0,6
Thabo Dladla 2005 – – – –
Keagan Mumba 2004 2004 – – –
Walter Rautmann 2003 – – – –
Zipho Dlangalala & Thabo Dladla  (Interim) 2003 2003 – – –
Joseph Mukeba 2003 2003 – – –
Ramadhan Nsanzurwimo 2003 2003 – – –
Neil Tovey 2001 2002 – – –
Eddie Lewis 1999 2000 – – –
Gavin Lane  (Interim) 1999 1999 – – –
Clive Barker 1997 1999 – – –
Eoin Hand 1993 1993 – – –
Clive Barker 1991 1993 – – –
Clive Barker 1986 1987 – – –
Clive Barker 1974 1976 – – –

Club honours

League

National Professional Soccer League (first tier)

  • Champions: 1972

First Division Coastal Stream (second tier)

  • Winners: 2000–01, 2002–03

Cups

MTN 8

  • Runners-up: 2022

Telkom Knockout

  • Winners: 1992

Nedbank Cup

  • Runners-up: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1987, 1990, 2009–10

Minor cups

  • KwaZulu-Natal Premier’s Cup:
    • Winners: 2018
  • The Msunduzi Cup
    • Winners: 2019

Club records

  • Most starts: South Africa Julius Chirwa 244
  • Most goals: South Africa Owen Nzimande 55
  • Most capped player: Zimbabwe Francis Shonhai 13
  • Most starts in a season: South Africa Archie Radebe 41 (1987)
  • Most goals in a season: South Africa George Dearnaley 23 (1992)
  • Record defeat: 1–8 vs  SuperSport United (6/6/04, PSL)
  • Most points in a league season: 54 (2020/2021)
  • Most wins in a row: 6 (2020/2021)
  • Longest undefeated run: 16 (2020/2021)

Premier Soccer League

  • 2022/2023  – 12th
  • 2021/2022  – 7th
  • 2020/2021 – 2nd
  • 2019/2020 – 13th
  • 2018/2019  – 11th
  • 2017/2018  – 9th
  • 2014/2015  – 16th (relegated)
  • 2013/2014  – 9th
  • 2012/2013  – 12th
  • 2011/2012  – 7th
  • 2010/2011  – 14th
  • 2009/2010  – 9th
  • 2008/2009  – 8th
  • 2007/2008  – 13th
  • 2006/2007  – 15th
  • 2003/2004  – 16th (relegated)
  • 2001/2002  – 17th (relegated)
  • 1999/2000  – 17th (relegated)
  • 1998/1999  – 14th
  • 1997/1998  – 15th
  • 1996/1997  – 14th

National First Division (2nd tier)

  • 2016/2017  – 5th
  • 2015/2016  – 9th
  • 2005/2006  – 8th
  • 2004/2005  – 6th
  • 2002/2003 – 1st (promoted)
  • 2000/2001  – 1st (promoted)

CAF Champions League

  • 2021/2022 – Qualified for group stages.

Cup record

MTN 8

Season Round Opposition Score
2022/2023 Final Orlando Pirates F.C. 0:1
2021/2022 Quarter-Finals Cape Town City F.C. 1:2
2012/2013 Quarter-Finals Moroka Swallows F.C. 0:2
2009/2010 Semi-Finals Lamontville Golden Arrows F.C. 1:4 (over two legs)

Carling Black Label Cup

Season Round Opposition Score
2022/2023 Semi-Finals Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. 0:3

Telkom Knockout[edit]

Season Round Opposition Score
2019/2020 First round Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. 0:5
2018/2019 Quarter-Finals Orlando Pirates F.C. 1:3 (AET)
2017/2018 First round Kaizer Chiefs F.C. 0:3
2014/2015 Quarter-Finals Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. 1:2 (AET)
2013/2014 First round Free State Stars F.C. 0:2
2012/2013 Quarter-Finals Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. 0:2
2011/2012 First round Bidvest Wits F.C. 0:1
2010/2011 First round Kaizer Chiefs F.C. 0:2
2009/2010 Semi-Finals Ajax Cape Town F.C. 0:2
2008/2009 First round SuperSport United F.C. 0:1
2008/2009 Quarter-Finals Bloemfontein Celtic F.C. 0:1

Nedbank Cup[edit]

Season Round Opposition Score
2022/2023 Round of 16 Dondol Stars 4:5 (Penalty shootout)
2021/2022 Round of 32 Orlando Pirates F.C. 0:1
2020/2021 Round of 16 Black Leopards F.C. 0:1
2019/2020 Round of 32 Bloemfontein Celtic F.C. 1:4
2018/2019 Round of 32 Highlands Park F.C. 1:3 (Penalty shootout)
2017/2018 Round of 16 Ubuntu 2:3
2016/2017 Round of 32 Platinum Stars F.C. 2:3
2015/2016 Round of 32 Jomo Cosmos F.C. 3:4 (Penalty shootout)
2014/2015 Round of 32 Lamontville Golden Arrows F.C. 1:2
2013/2014 Round of 16 Bidvest Wits F.C. 1:4
2012/2013 Round of 32 Tembu Royals F.C. 1:2
2011/2012 Semi-Finals SuperSport United F.C. 0:3
2010/2011 Quarter-Finals Mpumalanga Black Aces F.C. 2:3
2009/2010 Final Bidvest Wits F.C. 0:3
2008/2009 Round of 32 Black Leopards F.C. 0:1
2007/2008 Semi-Finals Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. 0:1

Shirt sponsor and kit manufacturer

  • Shirt sponsor: SPAR
  • Kit manufacturer: Umbro
  • Sponsor: Durban Tourism
  • Sponsor: Grindrod
  • Sponsor:Thule
  • Sponsor: Mazi Asset Management
  • Vehicle Sponsor: Mitsubishi South Africa
  • Strapping and Rehabilitation equipment: HiTech Therapy