Varsity Football newcomers Limpopo are looking to qualify for the 2015 edition of the tournament.
The Men from Limpopo are already at training for the University Sports South Africa (USSA) qualifiers against TUT-Polokwane and the University of Venda scheduled for later this month.
Coach Strada Dhlamini believes the team has fared well in the 2014 tournament.
“It has been a wonderful tournament, it is where it is now. Good luck to the finalists UJ and Tuks. I think we did our best under the circumstances. We at least got a position better than a team that was there last year [position seven].
“This might sound like a broken record but we learnt our lessons, some of the boys came out of the tournament really positive, which is great, we are looking forward to the way ahead [future tournaments],” he said.
Dhlamini explained that there are a number of goals for his team as they look to build some momentum heading into next year.
“For us the immediate tasks are the league [Turfloop Soccer League], as well as the USSA qualifiers and the USSA club champs in Durban. However, in the midterm is to make sure that we gain promotion to the Second division.
“I think it’s about time we worked hard on it, that should be the target. In the long term, our goal is to grow as a brand and play in the First division, maybe even play in the PSL like Tuks and Wits one day,” stressed Dhlamini.
He said that their initial plan when the tournament started was to make the top four come end of the mini-league stages, unfortunately it was not to be.
He cites the matches against North West University and UJ as the highlight of their tournament. He said drawing against UJ, a team in the final is a good indication of the pedigree in the Turfloop Campus team.
He said he will also draw strength from the fact that UL players featured a number of times in the Varsity Stars of the Week and they took three Man of the Match awards, including the UJ match.
Dhlamini said that having a large squad of players could have been their Achilles heel in the tournament as it meant having to keep everybody happy.
He also alluded to the travelling that took its toll on the players,
“Playing all the games away had a negative impact on the team, we need to improve on that in the future. We need to have people travel here [to Limpopo].”
The Siswati speaking coach said that the University of Limpopo Sports and Recreation division has already started preparations for the Varsity Football.
“Work has already begun on the upgrading of the facility [stadium], we started this past Monday. We should be done with everything including the lights by February next year. The facility should look three hundred times better than it is early next year,” he concluded.
The team is positive of qualifying and making the top four in the USSA games in Durban later in the year. With the lessons and experience gained from this year’s Varsity Football competition, the team is looking to forward to qualifying and stamping their authority in 2015.
By Noko Pela
