AmaZulu president Sandile Zungu has shed some light on the club’s decision to release 15 players ahead of the upcoming season.
Released Players:
Neil Boshoff, Tapelo Xoki, Xola Mlambo, Luvuyo Memela, Philani Zulu, Limbikani Mzava, Tsepo Masilela, Kgotso Moleko, Henrick Ekstein, Abraham Majok, Thabo Qalinge, Siphelele Mthembu, Andre de Jong, Augustine Mulenga and Siyethemba Sithebe.
Particularly surprising were the releases of Memela, Mlambo and Mulenga, who all played key roles last season.
The chairman reasons, however, that the club had an already over-inflated squad due to not having let go of any players in two seasons, which meant for a dire need to cut the wage budget.
“When we came on board with AmaZulu two years ago, we never sold a single player,” Zungu told Andile Ncube on Sports Night Amplified.
“Quite honestly, we did so well in the first season that we qualified for CAF Champions League and we went to the transfer market to bolster the team.
“The only person that we lost was Mabiliso, who signed for Kaizer Chiefs. But we went out for people who had CAF Champions League experience. So we ended up with a team of about 34 players, excluding the youngsters who are at MDC.
“I did make it very clear, if we cannot defend our number two or number three position or win the CAF Champions League, then we’d be faced with a situation where we’re not competing in the continent and we’re just in the local competitions and we’ll not need 34 players.
“I made it clear that I’d go for the best 20 in the crop and then I’d go in the transfer market to 28, I said a maximum of 28 and that’s exactly what we did. We looked at the teams’ performance and a whole lot of factors, including the system that we’d deploy next season, including the trades in the athletes that we need.
“We sat down and said this one fits perfectly into our plans, this one doesn’t. Also bearing in mind we’re building for the future, we’re not just building for 2022/23 and hence we took the decision that certain players, we will not extend their contracts, some we’ll give clearance and some we’ll lose to other teams like Siyethemba and Xoki going to Chiefs and Pirates respectively.
“And then we’ll be going to to the transfer market, already we’ve signed seven players that we’ll be making public in the next week or so.”