After hours, Matome Kganakga, marketer on the NWU’s campus in Vanderbiljpark, is the proud organisational manager of the Orange Vaal Professionals soccer team.

The sounds of the Vuvuzela and the roars of a cheering crowd around a football field are music to the ears of Matome Kganakga.

During office hours he travels great distances to promote the NWU as marketer on the NWU’s campus in Vanderbijlpark. After hours he focuses on the Orange Vaal Professional Football team and his contribution to their journey to the top of their league: a task he has excelled at thus far.

 

Growing with the game

As the previous shareholder of the team Manco Milano FC, Matome helped that team grow at such a rapid pace that it won the SAB League and qualified for the ABC Motsepe League. However, when the boys went through to the ABC Motsepe League, Matome realised that an enormous financial investment would be needed.

 

The solution that Matome and his partner agreed on was to change the ownership of the team. When Matome left to become the operational manager of the Orange Vaal Professionals, many Manco Milano players decided to follow him.

 

At that stage, the Orange Vaal Professionals were a bottom-of-the-log team, but recently, under Matome’s guidance, they won a match against the famed Moroka Swallows and ended in the second position of their league.

 

An eye for detail

The day-to-day activities required to keep the Orange Vaal Professional Football Club running smoothly take meticulous planning, an eye for detail and great communication skills. Matome says many years of experience have taught him that the game is not always won on the football field. That is why any team under his operational management will never have to be concerned about transport, accommodation, salaries, clothing and other logistical details.

 

These are only a few of Matome’s responsibilities – he is also the person who talks to the caterers about the specific diets of the players and to the team’s opponents about facilities for his players during away games.

 

Planning for the future

The long-term success of the players is close to Matome’s heart. “I encourage them to study full time in the beginning and play football part time. Later, when all goes well on the field, they can change their studies to part time. When their football careers are over, they must be able to rely on their qualifications,” he says.

 

According to Matome, the Vaal Triangle region is rich when it comes to football talent. More than half of the teams in the ABC Motsepe League have included players from this region in their teams. This is also true about the Orange Vaal Professionals – only one team member does not hail from the Vaal Triangle area. In the Premier League, which is the league after the National First Division, only six of the 16 teams do not currently have a Vaal Triangle player on the team.

 

Matome’s aspiration for the team is to win the ABC Motsepe League and in so doing, move to the National First Division.

 

Matome is married to Patricia and is the proud father of Boemo (3).