In the wake of Kruger United’s promotion from the Motsepe Foundation Championship (MFC) to the Premiership, we outline some key facts about the Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga-based outfit and how they clinched automatic promotion.
- Nicknamed “Village Boys”, Kruger was established in 2023 via purchasing fellow provincial third-tier side Caroline FC.
- They won the Mpumalanga stream of the ABC Motsepe League in the 2023/24 season, qualifying for the national playoffs, where they went on to reach the final to earn promotion to the MFC. In the ABC Motsepe League final, they were beaten 2-0 by Eastern Cape’s Highbury.
- Finished fifth in their maiden season (2024/25) in the MFC, before clinching promotion in only their second term.
- Kruger are owned by two Mpumalanga businessmen, Basil Khoza and Bongani Wati. The former is a managing director at Bazil Technologies, a company that describes itself as “a bona fide South African based fabrication facility geared towards servicing the pressure equipment, storage tanks, piping and general steel structures industries for new fabrications, repair works as well as maintenance works”.
- Khoza serves as the club’s president, focusing on oversight, while Wati acts as the chairman, overseeing daily operations.
- Kruger are coached by 40-year-old CAF A-licence holder Abrama Mongoya, who was the assistant when they won promotion to the MFC. He returned to the club last October after a brief spell with Upington.
Some of the factors that helped Kruger seal the deal?
- Signed a few senior players like Ntsako Makhubela and Sipho Sibiya to bolster the squad in January.
- Won six games in a row between April and their last fixture, where they thumped Black Leopards 3-1 at home to officially be champions.
- Strong home record, where they have never lost a league game so far with nine wins and four draws from 13 games.
Sowetan
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