Club Focus is a Vaal Diski 9~Nine feature every Wednesday…
Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day’s work absorb your entire energies, and satisfy your widest ambition. – Sir William Osler
Club origin: Vuka, Sharpeville
Club year formed: 2013
Owner: Miss Ntswaki Regina Thinane
Divisions: Under 13, 15 & 19
Club home ground: Bedworthpark
League competing in: Mayfair Football League
2014-Year of the Vaal Italian Hunters FC ...
The journey taken by club owner Miss Ntswaki “Coach Manana” Thinane in football has proven one of life’s greatest lessons “by working hard & smart on your idea or concept, something ought to give”.
On constant observation of young boys consistently going off the rails as soon as they reached adolescence, Coach Manana was challenged to bring a turnaround to her community. Armed with certifications from the Dreamfields,the international acclaimed Future Championships tournament coaching clinics & the South African Football Coaches Association (SAFCA), coupled with her prior coaching stint at Lebowa Primary School, Coach Manana’s passion drove her in forming Vuka’s Vaal Italian Hunters Football Club. Like many before her, the sight of inactivity & often mischievous ways of the youth propelled her to contribute to society through the worlds most watched sport: football.
The early days of the club were very challenging on all aspects from insufficient equipment, grasping club management & often financial depletion. So firm in her beliefs, Coach Manana did not just want to see Vaal Italian Hunters FC become like any other club & sought ways to distinguish the club from others. The year 2014 saw the team register to play in the Local Football Association’s league, but soon Coach Manana was not entirely happy with the level of competition from other clubs & like a concerned football mentor she researched nearby leagues which could offer competitive action so as to assist in the development of the players. She then registered the club with the Mayfair Football League as an opportunity to expose the young footballers to a vast amount of competition & various playing systems.
Progress!!!
Competing in the Mayfair Football League has allowed the Vaal Italian Hunters an opportunity to be exposed to the Orlando Pirates Football Club development sides, so impressed was Coach Augusto Palacios (Head of OPFC development)with the work of Vaal Italian Hunters FC,both teams now have a partnership going with the sides often playing against each other & two players already heading to the Buccaneers. Coach Manana has introduced regular camps during holidays for the players as a way to expose the young men to a whole lot of experiences. The club is on the rise with constant invitations from a host of academies in South Africa.
Professionalism!!!
The Club takes the welfare of players very seriously & has a well managed process of documentation when a player is joining the club. Thorough work gets done on a player joining the club with a parent/guardian needed before a player can even kick a ball. Players pay a registration of R100-00 whilst R250-00 gets charged for merchandise such as kit & tracksuits. The club won the hearts of the Bedworthpark community which then put pressure on the Emfuleni muncipality to install football goalposts & regularly cut the grass. The club has a daily register for players training & match attendance whilst it hosts monthly meetings coupled with player reports to the parents. Renowned Vaal Triangle Dr.Hlanyane has backed the club & constantly offers the club medical assistance. So advanced is the club that the majority of their training sessions & matches are taken videos of & often watched at the home of Coach Manana on Friday meeting days whilst offering life skills to the young boys. The same videos Coach Manana exchanged with her Brazilian coaching counterparts during Future Championships Coaching Clinics with the Brazilian coaches concluding an impressive & educative feedback report to her & asking to go to the worlds football capital with them. On the issue of player guidance, once a term, report cards are checked & meetings with schools are arranged to check up on the progress of the players & timetables worked out.
Aims & challenges…
The club is in the process of registering as an Non Profit Organisation (NPO) whilst its long term plans are to reach the higher leagues of South African football. Issues of sponsorship continues to be a major Achilles heel, especially when it comes to food packages & transportation on the club’s match days.
Though new kids on the block, the club has steadily progressed to become one of the Vaal’s most promising & advanced teams. Though they might not compete locally, the pride they carry is of the Vaal Triangle & have constantly represented the cradle of human rights region with aplomb wherever they play. Hail the Vaal Italian Hunters Football Club.
Vaal Diski 9~Nine Salutes the Vaal Italian Hunters FC brand,wishing the club growth & prosperity ⚽
Narrating The Vaal Triangle Football Story
Vaal Diski 9-Nine 