Chippa United coach Thabo September has skilfully sidestepped inquiries regarding the future of veteran midfielder Andile Jali with the Eastern Cape outfit. Jali joined the Chilli Boys at the start of the 2024/25 Betway Premiership season.
The former Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns anchorman was expected to play a big role at the club. But he has seen little action especially under September.
Since joining Chippa, he has made 13 appearances in all competitions, totalling 707 minutes. Only 10 were starts, while the other three were off the bench.
The last time he played a part was on 18 February in Chippa’s 2-0 win over Cape Town City FC. In that fixture, he came on as a late sub, only playing for a minute.
In the Chippa Mpengesi-owned club’s latest match against AmaZulu FC on Saturday, he was not named in the matchday squad.
Following their 2-1 victory over visiting Usuthu in East London, September was asked about the midfielder’s future. Amid speculations that Jali may not be included in the new regime’s plans, September has clarified these claims, asserting that all his players are treated equally.
WHAT DID THABO SEPTEMBER SAY ABOUT ANDILE JALI
“Let’s leave individual players, I don’t want to talk [about them],” said September in a post-match interview. “He’s not injured; He is a Chippa player. Who else is not here? Then you’re going to make my players also [think] this one is bigger than this one, [and] it’s not.
“Who else is not here? If you give me the players that are not here, all of them, then I will answer [for] the individuals,”
He further explained that Jali’s omission is part of the game and emphasised that there should be no discord regarding what the team aims to achieve.
“That is football, don’t look to mess up what we are building,” concluded September.
Saturday’s result propelled the Eastern Cape side to ninth place in the standings after playing 21 matches, where Chippa has garnered 28 points.
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Written by Sino Tompela
