Latest news with #Mngqithi
IOL News
08-07-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Dikgacoi backs Mngqithi's bold title ambitions at Golden Arrows
Musa Bilankulu and Kagisho Dikgacoi co coaches of Golden Arrows. Picture: Sydney Mahlangu, BackpagePix Image: Backpages Golden Arrows assistant coach Kagiso Dikgacoi has thrown his support behind Manqoba Mngqithi's bold ambition to mount a Betway Premiership title challenge, saying the veteran coach has already transformed the club's mentality behind the scenes. Mngqithi returned to Arrows late last season after parting ways with Mamelodi Sundowns, reuniting with a club where he built his name in the early 2000s. He took over a side battling for consistency and managed to steady the ship, helping Abafana Bes'thende secure a 12th-place finish — two points shy off a top-eight spot. Now, with a full pre-season under his belt, Mngqithi has made it clear that he's aiming higher. For Dikgacoi, who played under Mngqithi during his first spell at Arrows before securing a move abroad, the ambition is refreshing and familiar. 'We obviously didn't do well last season until he came in, and he immediately demanded intensity from the players,' said Dikgacoi. 'That shifted the mentality a little in the changeroom.' Although Arrows missed out on a top-eight finish, the improvement under Mngqithi's short tenure was evident. And now with the off-season to fine-tune the squad and structure, the technical team believes the club can push into new territory. 'Unfortunately we couldn't make the top eight like we'd hoped, but he is someone that wants to win things,' Dikgacoi added. 'He's won cups and league titles, and that's the mentality he's instilling in us. 'Hopefully we're gonna be able to do that this season with the players we've got and the players we've also let go.' Arrows have undergone subtle changes in personnel, but the biggest shift has come in the tone and culture within the squad.
IOL News
28-06-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Transforming Golden Arrows: Manqoba Mngqithi's ambitious plans for 2025/26
Golden Arrows Manqoba Mngqithi is settling back in KZN following his return to the club. Photo: Backpagepix Image: Backpagepix Manqoba Mngqithi has committed to building a long-term project at Golden Arrows, with wholesale changes expected at the club ahead of the 2025/26 Betway Premiership season. The 54-year-old coach, who returned to the KwaZulu-Natal outfit in March following his departure from Mamelodi Sundowns in December, has wasted little time in reshaping the squad and technical team. Arrows ended the previous campaign in 12th position, securing 31 points from 28 matches. Mngqithi's return to the club that helped launch his professional coaching career has signalled a renewed sense of ambition in Durban. After spending over a decade at Sundowns, where he played a significant role in their domestic dominance, his decision to rejoin Arrows indicates a desire to build something sustainable. In one of the club's recent documentaries, Mngqithi outlined his vision, which includes the dream of delivering Arrows' first-ever league title—adding to the 2009 MTN8 triumph, which remains the club's only major trophy to date. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading His long-standing connection with the club has been a driving force behind his commitment to the project. Behind the scenes, changes are already being implemented. Arrows have brought in Yardaan Valodia as part of their technical team. The 20-year-old analyst arrives from Mamelodi Sundowns and was part of the South Africa U20 setup that won the U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Cairo last month. Valodia, one of the youngest performance analysts in the country, joined Sundowns at the start of last season and quickly adapted to the demands of the elite level. His close working relationship with Mngqithi appears to have played a role in his move to KwaZulu-Natal. The decision to bring in such a young yet experienced figure points to Mngqithi's intention to modernise Arrows' technical approach, blending experience with innovation and data-driven planning—an approach he was exposed to during his tenure at Chloorkop. MANQOBA MNGQITHI Next season, Golden Arrows will be a team you have never seen before. You will even doubt yourselves that you are part of that team. My biggest dream is to win a League title with a small team. I want Golden Arrows to win the PSL league trophy next season. I… — Constitution First 🇿🇦 (@Constitution_94) June 8, 2025
TimesLIVE
30-05-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
'Anything is possible in South Africa,' Arrows coach Manqoba Mngqithi after 'second half' match with SuperSport
Golden Arrows coach Manqoba Mngqithi has described the 45-minute contest with SuperSport United at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Thursday as strange and unheard of. Mngqithi said he hopes it does not set a bad precedent where clubs will in future switch off lights when results are not going their way hoping to complete matches later. SuperSport narrowly survived the dreaded promotion playoffs with a 1-1 draw with Golden Arrows to officially mark the end of the Betway Premiership campaign. This second half, which ended without goals, was a continuation of the match abandoned at halftime three months ago due to Lucas Moripe's lights going out amid a power failure with the score level at 1-1 at halftime. At that time, SuperSport opened the scoring after four minutes through the effort of Christian Saile and that goal was cancelled out in the 24th minute by Velemseni Ndwandwe for Arrows. 'Anything is possible in South Africa,' - Arrows coach Manqoba Mngqithi after the match against SuperSport. WATCH full interview ➡️➡️➡️ — Mahlatse Mphahlele (@BraMahlatse) May 30, 2025 SuperSport, whose future remains in doubt with rumours the club is for sale, are equal on 27 points with Cape Town City but have a better goal difference and have saved their status in the PSL. This means City, who finished 15th, go to the playoffs where they will play against Motsepe Foundation Championship (MFC) sides Orbit College and Casric Stars — pending an arbitration involving MFC champions Durban City — to save their PSL status. 'It's strange, it's unheard of and I hope we did not set a bad precedent,' said Mngqithi. 'If this is what is going to happen, we are going to have a lot of problems with teams switching off the lights when the going gets tough. If the mindset is not right for the match they will know at least we have a repeat the next day or after three months where we may come back better. 'With all the changes you can still make after three months, it may be better for other teams. Personally, I have never heard of anything like this, but in South Africa anything is possible. 'In South Africa sometimes traffic is directed by the homeless, so anything is possible.' SuperSport CEO Stan Matthews said they followed all the procedures set by the PSL. 'We have done everything according to procedure, from our point of view we followed the process and we faced our DC charges and we respected the decision. 'Everyone has their rights to do whatever they want to do but I can't speak for Cape Town City. As far as we are concerned, we did everything we needed to do, we complied with all the conditions put in front of us. 'We fulfilled our league fixture and according to me and the league table we have avoided the play-offs.'
TimesLIVE
26-05-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Sundowns coach Cardoso deserves Coach of the Season award: Mngqithi
Golden Arrows coach Manqoba Mngqithi says his successor at Mamelodi Sundowns, Miguel Cardoso, deserves to win the Betway Premiership Coach of the Season award. Mngqithi, who parted ways with Downs in December to make way for Cardoso, also tipped the Pretoria club's Brazilian star Lucas Ribeiro to make a clean sweep of the players' awards. Cardoso replaced Mngqithi at Chloorkop seven games into the Premiership. The Portuguese coach steered the Brazilians to their eighth league title on the trot, registering 18 wins with two defeats and one draw from 21 league outings. Ribeiro topped the league's scoring charts with 16 goals, two ahead of teammate Iqraam Rayners, who, according to Mngqithi, should be the closest challenger to the Brazilian. Listen to noise 🧏♂️ A packed Loftus is different, Lucas Ribeiro's goal had the whole stadium in a frenzy. #TotalEnergiesCAFCL | #SSDiski — SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) May 26, 2025 'For me, I'd give it [Coach of the Season] to Cardoso because I think the team [Sundowns] has been strong,' Mngqithi, winner of the award with co-coach Rulani Mokwena in 2021-2022, said. 'The team has lost fewer matches [three] and has conceded less [just 13 goals] — they've also scored more than any other team [65 goals]. If you don't give it to him [Cardoso], why not? He deserves it. 'I think Lucas deserves it [Player of the Season]. Iqraam is also close, but in my opinion Lucas is probably at the top of the list to collect almost everything.' Last Tuesday, the league confirmed the postponement of the end-of-season awards. 𝐑𝐀𝐖 𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: This Sundowns fan was in disbelief as Walid Elkarti scored a crucial away goal for Pyramids seconds from the final whistle #TotalEnergiesCAFCL #SSDiski — SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) May 25, 2025 'The PSL awards ceremony has traditionally been held in June. However, due to Sundowns' participation in the 2025 Fifa Club World Cup [in the US in June and July] and the 2024-2025 Caf Champions League final [over last and the coming weekends], the league has decided to postpone this season's ceremony,' it said. 'The league will communicate the new date and further details of the awards ceremony [later].' Sundowns were held to a 1-1 draw by Egyptian side Pyramids FC in the Champions League final first leg at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, with the second leg in Cairo on Sunday (7pm SA time). In the Club World Cup, the Tshwane giants are in Group F with German giants Borussia Dortmund, Fluminense of Brazil and South Korean side Ulsan. The Club World Cup starts on June 15 and concludes on July 13. Sundowns face Ulsan in their Group F opener at Inter & Co Stadium in Orlando on June 18 and Dortmund in Cincinnati three days later. They wrap up their group phase campaign against Fluminense in Miami on June 25.
IOL News
18-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Golden Arrows will not be relegated, insists Mngqithi despite winless run
Golden Arrows head coach Manqoba Mngqithi has one more match in the Betway Premiership to prepare the club for – Sekhukhune United – next weekend. Photo: Backpagepix Image: Backpagepix Golden Arrows coach Manqoba Mngqithi is adamant his team won't be relegated, even as the pressure mounts with only one game left to play in their turbulent season. Abafana Bes'thende were held to a goalless draw by Richards Bay on Saturday, extending their winless run to seven matches. The result moved them to 27 points — still dangerously close to the drop zone. Cape Town City's win over Polokwane City meant 30 points is the mark to reach to ensure safety. Arrows now need a final-day win over Sekhukhune United to be certain of surviving the ignominy of playing in the PSL promotion/relegation play-offs. They remain just one point above CTC in the relegation play-off spot and are level with SuperSport on points. The Durban side are still awaiting a PSL ruling on their abandoned fixture against SuperSport, which could yet impact their survival hopes. But for Mngqithi, there's no panic — just belief. 'Stats are like bikinis they don't reveal everything' … Mandla is going to coach Golden arrows when they fire Manqoba 🤣🤣🤣 — ISHMAEL 🏴☠️☠️🇿🇦🇨🇩🇵🇸 (@mr_shimmy) May 18, 2025 Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ 'Golden Arrows will not be relegated and when the opposite happens, I will be here to answer,' he said with conviction after the match. 'I am very confident looking at the log table and looking at the games we still have to play. Relegation is not a worry for me and I've said this for a while looking at the prospect of playing two games (and only requiring three points).' Arrows' draw at home to Richards Bay highlighted the same issues that have plagued their season — missed chances, lack of urgency in key moments, and defensive uncertainty. It was their seventh straight match without a victory, and although they avoided defeat, it wasn't enough to ease growing anxiety among supporters. Mngqithi, a league winner with Mamelodi Sundowns in the past, blamed injuries and the loss of key players for the team's nosedive at the business end of the campaign. 'The only thing I'm upset about is my team not pitching to the right level and that's partly because we lost key players at a crucial moment and that for me was the biggest setback.' Despite the results, Mngqithi pointed to improvements in performance and structure under his guidance. 'If you look at the metrics, we are playing better now than we were previously (before he arrived) with probably the (Orlando) Pirates game the anomaly.' 'So, there are more positives than negatives for me but the negatives supersede the positives when you don't do the easiest things correctly (to get the necessary results),' he added. Now all focus turns to Saturday's must-win fixture against Sekhukhune United at the Mpumalanga Stadium in Hammarsdale. With 30 points likely securing their survival, Mngqithi's men have one last chance to control their own fate without relying on other results or PSL rulings. Mngqithi says he's not worried — but Arrows fans will need nerves of steel this week.
