Motsepe Foundation Championship side Black Leopards have explained the return of the club’s all-time top goal-scorer Mwape Musonda ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
The 33-year-old footballer has been without a club since July 2023 following his exit from the now-defunct Moroka Swallows.
The Zambian frontman first arrived in South Africa back in the 2014/15 season when he signed for the Soweto giants Orlando Pirates from Zanaco FC.
He was then loaned out to the KwaZulu-Natal outfit Golden Arrows the following season.
At the end of his loan spell with Abafana Bes’thende, Musonda moved on to join Lidoda Duvha on a free transfer in the 2016/17 season, where he became a key player for the outfit.
He went on to spend four seasons with the Limpopo club. To cap it off, Musonda was the leading scorer for Leopards in the SA second tier during the 2017/18 season, netting 14 goals to help them secure promotion. The previous season, he had scored 11 goals.
In the 2018/19 campaign, Musonda won the SA elite league’s Golden Boot after scoring 16 goals. He left Leopards in October 2020 to join Hatta Club, in the Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates [UAE].
BLACK LEOPARDS SPOKESPERSON ON MWAPE MUSONDA
The club’s spokesperson Lucky Tshilimandila revealed the reason behind the presence of Musonda, who is currently training with the team ahead of the upcoming season.
Tshilimandila says they brought back the experienced forward due to scoring struggles they experienced last season. He believes Musonda’s presence will boost the morale of the young players.
“If you look at last season if you were following our games, we were having a problem with scoring goals and to play all the beautiful football that everyone would love,” Tshilimandila told FARPost.
“So, we were having a problem with finishing. I think his experience and just him being with the team will motivate the young players.
“He is a seasoned player with a vast experience. He played for Moroka Swallows, and he went abroad to play in Saudi Arabia.”
Tshilimandila continued: “So, him being there will boost the morale of young players and also in every team you need that person who has that experience and can eliminate players.
“If he is there, two or three defenders will be after him which now gives other players an opportunity to play well and maybe take shots and score goals, and this will also help us.”
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