AmaZulu president Sandile Zungu has revealed why the club opted to part ways with 11 players and several technical team members, insisting he had to protect the integrity and the image of the club.
Zungu said the issue of alcohol played a role and told this publication before that there was “dead wood he needed to clean up in the team.”
The president confirmed during a media briefing on that the club has parted ways with 11 players, who are yet to be officially named by the club, with Lehlohonolo Majoro and Thabo Qalinge is two known names who are gone.
Zungu also wielded the axe at people within the technical team, with caretaker coach Ayanda Dlamini, technical advisor Romain Folz, who was previously the head coach, team scout Ayanda Mkhize, team manager Qedi Dlamini and general manager Tshepiso Mofokeng, all left the club.
All of the changes comes following a disappointing season that saw them finish in 12th position, which is far away from their lofty top-four ambitions, leading Zungu to make these drastic changes once again.
“We always say that, wear that badge with pride,” said Zungu.
“Because it has a lot of meaning to us. Some do that, others don’t. It is a shame that all those who don’t protect the integrity of the badge…
“My responsibility is to make sure that I protect that badge and its integrity. From time to time I would take unpopular decisions with my hand in the heart, knowing fully that I’m protecting the worth, the integrity, the pride, the value of this badge, I would do that.
“It is true that we have been disappointed from time to time by the behaviour of players who seem to not take the minimum work in various forms, at training, match days, outside of the field, out there on the streets – that when people see them, but ‘this guy, does he knows that he is playing for AmaZulu Football Club?’
“There is a great deal of expectation from people out there when you don the colours of AmaZulu football club. The culture that we have, it talks about emulating the heroic performance of some of the warriors of Usuthu when they fought the battle of Isandlwana when they defeated the British carrying guns and they were holding spears and shields on the other hand and the defeated the mighty army of British Empire (in the 1879).
“We said ’emulate that in the battlefield’ and to the extent that last year’s team, we even gave them the name Amankentshane [wild dogs, which was written in the jersey].
“Amankentshane was the regiment given to King Shaka by the chief of Zungus. With this, you shall build the Zulu nation.”
