The making of champions – former UWC sporting director opens up

Gagayi says when he joined UWC in 2015 he brought about new changes, including recruiting women’s football team coach Thinasonke Mbuli. He left UWC last month to assume the same position at WITS, but not before enduring a barrage of insults for the decisions he made, especially regarding the appointment of the coach.

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''What always makes me to be emotional about the team is the insults, because myself and Thina are not from Cape Town. The criticism from the people of Cape Town who were saying why would we choose a coach that is not from Cape Town to lead the team. At the time we had coaches from Cape Town who didn't do much for the team, just doing the bare minimum to get the team out of relegation. I had to get a coach that would make the team to not just compete but win competitions, and coach Thina did that. And that is why I feel vindicated,'' said  Gagayi.

Mr G, as Gagayi is often referred to, says he found upon his arrival at UWC that the women’s team was not given attention.

''When I got to UWC in 2015, women's football was there  but it was not getting the attention it deserves. And you know in South Africa, every club owner wants their team to play in the PSL. I said let us focus on women's football because the reality is we will never have a team in the PSL. Women’s football needs our support, so instead of focusing too much on the men's team, let us focus on the women's team, and we started doing things differently,'' added Gagayi.

Gagayi has revealed that it was Banyana Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis who recommended Mbuli to UWC – at the time the latter was in charge of the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN).

''I am not an expert in women's football, so what I did was to call Desiree Ellis and ask for her recommendation for a coach. Desiree told me about Thina, who was at UKZN at the time.  We eventually agreed that Thina would join the team, and she had a plan and we knew where we wanted to take the team,'' he concluded.

The former UWC Sporting Director believes lifting the regional trophy has given Mbuli enough ammunition to be able to negotiate for more support from the leaders of the institution.

Gagayi, who watched the final on television, says he cried tears of joy when the match ended in Malawi, as emotions got the better of him.

UWC is expected to land at the Cape Town International Airport at 13h45 this afternoon from Malawi.