Galoome Shopane
The Biblical classic of David defeating Goliath became a 21st century reality when underdogs Maluti FET College’s soccer team defeated the oldest and biggest football club in Africa, Orlando Pirates. This inspirational team came from the mountainous area in the Free State to stun the see-robbers with a smashing victory of 4-1 for the Maluti FET team. The match took place on February 23 at Charles Mopedi Stadium in Qwaqwa.
Maluti FET’s triumph might have stunned many, but to the college and its employees this was business as usual. "When we heard who we were going to play against, we were not scared, we took Orlando Pirates as just another opponent and we are certainly not surprised by the outcome," said Makhala Moloi-Labase, communication officer at the college. The Nedbank Cup is a knockout tournament where 16 Premier Soccer League clubs, 8 National First Division teams, as well as 8 teams from the amateur ranks enter the main draw of 32 teams. The winning team receives prize money of R7 million and they also qualify for the next season of CAF Confederation Cup.
This first division team entered the Nedbank Cup tournament with the aim of just playing the game, and eventually became number one in the tournament. "We want to win the Nedbank Cup," Moloi-Labase laughs.
This little team has given South African football fanatics a great expectation for the future of South African football. Pride and self-confidence is Maluti FET’s reward for the duration of the tournament and perhaps even beyond because it is entrenched in the South African football history books that Maluti FET once gave Orlando Pirates a beating of a lifetime.
