Beyond John Maduka: Other Malawians who coached in PSL

John Maduka was, until last week, the only Malawian coaching in the PSL.

With the former Bloemfontein Celtic and Royal AM mentor Maduka losing his Maritzburg United job after an indifferent start to the campaign, FARPost looks at other Malawians who have managed South African teams and how they fared.

Kinnah Phiri

The Malawian football legend first arrived as Free State Stars technical director to work with coach Roy Barreto in 2007.

Kinnah eventually took over the mantle from Zimbabwean-born Barreto and went on to have three separate spells at Free Stars, the last one being from 2014 to 2015.

The seasoned Malawian mentor guided Stars to a fifth-place league finish in 2007, its best ever in the Premier Soccer League before relegation.

Kinnah returned to Malawi in 2008 to take up his first permanent coaching job with the Flames, and he steered them to the 2010 AFCON, the second time in the country’s history.

The 68-year-old, who now works as a sports director in Malawi’s Ministry of Sports, also managed clubs in Eswatini, Botswana and Tanzania.

Patrick Mabedi

The former Kaizer Chiefs defender retired from a playing career at Swallows. He served as Swallows community liaison officer before becoming an interim coach.

The former Flames defender would eventually become a stand-alone coach at Cape Town All Stars in the National First Division.

His impressive infant career did not escape the attention of Chiefs, who recalled him to serve as a deputy to coach Giovanni Solinas in 2018.

Solinas’ eventual sacking meant that Mabedi, too, had to leave. Mabedi returned to management at Black Leopards, where he served as the righthand man for Lionel Soccoia. The pair hardly finished the 2019 season.

Zorro Msiska

Few might remember him, but those who followed Bloemfontein Celtic in the 1980s should be familiar with the methodical coach and his Shoe Shine football. Msiska also coached Township Rollers across the borders of Botswana in the early 1980s.

Jack Chamangwana

Jack Chamangwana’s is engraved in the folklore of Amakhosi. He arrived in Joburg in 1986 and instantly hit the ground running as a centre-back and was made captain between 1985 and 1989.

Chamangwana also served Chiefs as coach-player whenever there was a coaching vacancy. He was actually the coach when Chiefs won the league championship in 1989.

The former Malawi skipper wound his coaching career in North West Province at Michau Warriors. The 1984 AFCON captain for Malawi returned home in 1997 to coach the Flames, childhood club Mighty Wanderers then Yanga in Tanzania in 2007.

He died of diabetes in the year 2018 at the age of 61.

Mathias Mwenda

He had a successful coaching career at Umtata Bushbucks, managing players such as John Maduka, Wilfred and William Mugeyi, among others.

Mwenda, who had also coached the Flames of Malawi, had his last job in South Africa at Dynamos. Mwenda returned home and died in the late 1990s.