In a shocking decision, Siwelele FC have announced the departure of its CEO, Stan Matthews, and assistant coach Andre Arendse, while confirming who will replace the two key members.
The changes at Siwelele come after their dismal start to the 2025/26 Betway Premiership season, which saw them struggling to find a consistent winning form. Siwelele managed to claim only one win, one draw, and suffered five defeats in seven matches played in the new season so far.
The Bloemfontein-based side won the opening match of the campaign against Golden Arrows but lost against Orbit College FC, Polokwane City FC, TS Galaxy, Durban City FC, and Magesi FC while playing a draw against Richards Bay FC.
As first reported by FARPost, Matthews has been sacked after expressing negative feelings towards head coach Lehlohonolo Seema, which caused concerns from the club hierarchy.
Siwelele chairman Calvin Le John has since relieved Matthews of his duties alongside the assistant coach Andre Arendse. The duo were retained when Siwelele bought the PSL status of SuperSport United in the off-season.
Le John announced that former Bloemfontein Celtic and Orlando Pirates defender Willem Jackson will take over as assistant coach, while Lerato Kholoanyane is the new CEO.
WHO ARE THE NEW CEO AND ASSISTANT COACH AT SIWELELE?
“Greetings, Masele, I come to you today with good and bad news, but before that, I would like to give you guys context,” Le John said on the club’s social media platforms on Sunday.
“When we started the journey of purchasing SuperSport United, there were two conditions that we had to meet. The first one was that we were going to take in all the staff from SuperSport United, and the second one was that the team would be based in Gauteng for at least one season.
“We did so, and we will continue doing so. We are the only team that has played all its games as away games. Unfortunately, this has forced us to compromise on travelling, so we’ve put a policy in place that requires us to fly only when travelling above 600 kilometres. We are not in this for profit, but we are also not in it for the loss, and we have to follow our budget regardless of how the media feels about it.
“Now for the bad news, we’ve parted ways with our CEO, Stan Matthews, and our assistant coach, Andre Arendse. They have been great men to work with, but we cannot keep them on bought when their lives are threatened on a daily basis. We are also going to terminate the contracts of players who have not shown the heart and the willingness to fight for this team.
“To the good news, I’d like to introduce our new CEO, a lady by the name of Lerato Kholoanyane. I know that she’s what this club needs. I’d also like to introduce our new assistant coach, Willem Jackson, who played for this team. He knows and understands the culture.”
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