AmaZulu FC head coach Arthur Zwane has shared his thoughts on the growing dominance of KwaZulu-Natal teams in the Betway Premiership. KZN currently boasts five clubs in South Africa’s top-flight, the most of any province in the league.
AmaZulu, Durban City FC, Richards Bay FC, Golden Arrows FC and newboys Milford FC make up the teams in the Betway Premiership from this province.
That is more than Gauteng, which has three teams in Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns. Mpumalanga and Limpopo each have two teams in the top-flight.
The Western Cape, the Eastern Cape and the Free State are represented by one team each, while Marumo Gallants have just relocated to the North West, where they will play their home games at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Phokeng.
The only time a team from KZN won the PSL title was when the now-defunct Manning Rangers were crowned champions at the end of the 1996/97 season, capping the inaugural PSL campaign. But since then, clubs from the KZN province have struggled to challenge for league honours, with AmaZulu coming close during the 2020/21 season under Benni McCarthy when they were runners-up to eventual champions Sundowns.
‘IT WAS JUST A MATTER OF TIME’: ARTHUR ZWANE ON THE RISE OF KZN TEAMS
Zwane, however, believes that having five KZN teams in the Betway Premiership is a testament to clubs from the province closing the gap on Gauteng, which traditionally dominates South African football.
“If you look at the past two or three seasons, look at what KZN teams have done. They have done tremendously well,” Zwane told the media. “Just last season, Durban City won the [Nedbank] Cup; they were in the top eight; Golden Arrows were in the top eight; AmaZulu were in the top eight. It’s only Richards Bay who were just unfortunate, but they were very close to being in the top-eight.
“This season there are newcomers who are Milford. They are playing exciting football, and I have no doubt that they will also do well and make KZN people proud.
“So, I would say that tells you as well, if you look at nearly all the PSL teams, they have KZN players who come and join from grassroots level. I, for one, spent years in development with my previous club [Kaizer Chiefs]. I promoted seven or eight players from KZN.
“I started working with some from Under-17, if not Under-15. We went all the way to the first team with those players. That alone tells you that there is talent in abundance in KZN and there is no doubt about it.
“So, it was just a matter of time before teams started challenging and doing things differently and closing the gap between them and Gauteng teams because that’s where things are happening. That’s how you gauge yourself as to whether you are on the right track and doing well.”
WHY AMAZULU HAVE FAILED TO WIN THE BETWAY PREMIERSHIP TITLE
While KZN has the most teams in the Betway Premiership, the Western Cape is in decline, having previously had the likes of Cape Town Spurs, Cape Town City FC, former PSL champions Santos FC and Hellenic FC in the top-flight league. Zwane specifically points to his team, Usuthu, as being close to breaking the stranglehold on the PSL title by Gauteng sides.
“I think we are quite close as AmaZulu, even though we lost to all the teams in Gauteng last season. We only managed to get a point, but if you look at the games, we were close to getting maximum points,” the former Chiefs coach went on.
“We were just not taking our chances performance-wise, and we were just unfortunate. That’s the nature of football if you don’t take your chances and also don’t shut the backdoor.
“Whether you concede one, the fact that you don’t score and they score, you end up on the losing side. But I must say the KZN teams have done tremendously well.”
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