Having endured 12 years of financial struggles and numerous sleepless nights thinking about how to keep the club afloat, Highbury chair Cameron Klopper finally saw the fruits of his labour at the weekend.
All Klopper’s hardships and sacrifices were rewarded when his team were crowned national ABC Motsepe League champions, earning promotion to the Motsepe Foundation Championship (formerly National First Division) at the weekend.
Highbury beat Kruger United 2-0 in the final in Upington on Sunday and, in doing so, the Gqeberha team joined the few clubs from the Eastern Cape who have achieved that tough feat.
The majority of club owners who have seen teams promoted to the Premier Soccer League will tell you it is like walking on thin ice.
By contrast, a minority of owners make it seem like a piece of cake.
Kruger United will join the PE Football Association club team in the higher division after only being founded 11 months ago.
In Highbury’s case, they have invested much more in over a decade than the annual grant of a mere R30,000.
Businessman Klopper described owning a team in the lower divisions as no child’s play.
Club owners can cough up R100,000 or more a month, depending on their ambitions to keep their clubs afloat.
For many without financial support from municipalities, local companies and corporate businesses, it is often a case of sink or swim.
Klopper has managed to navigate the hardships since 2012 when he bought the club status from Matatiele Professionals, who were playing in the Vodacom League (ABC Motsepe League) at the time.
“It has been a hard journey, I won’t lie,” Klopper said.
“There were times I felt like giving up, but for the love of the sport and the thought that Gqeberha won’t have an opportunity of promotion one day kept me going.
“There were times where I had to borrow money from friends and family and take money from my business to make sure the team kept going.”
The blueprint to Highbury’s success was drawn up a season ago after finishing in the relegation zone for four straight years.
Klopper fortified his technical team with the acquisition of experienced coach Kabelo Sibiya, who has a strong CV, having coached extensively in the National First Division.
“We came close to being demoted for four consecutive seasons,” Klopper said.
“However, we contacted coach KB [Sibiya] and maintained our concentration as the purpose of bringing him on board was to advance to the Motsepe Foundation Championship, which we have achieved.
“In the previous season, KB and I began searching for players who displayed the correct mindset.
“Players who were eager to improve and had a strong mentality for important matches.
“As a result, we made changes and introduced players who could handle the demanding tasks for our team.”
Spearheaded by the likes of ex-Free State Stars player Mzoxolo Rafani and under the mentorship of Sibiya, the fortunes of the club whose original roots trace back to Motherwell began to change.
They won their stream convincingly in the provincial league, only losing one of their 16 matches.
They were then forced to endure a long, draining wait because of a legal dispute to determine who they would face in the provincial decider.
When that match came around, they took Sinenkani to the cleaners to book their place in the national playoffs, which started in Upington two days later.
They only arrived in the Northern Cape hours before their first game.
Despite those challenges, the team stood resilient on the big stage, topping their group and reaching the semifinals, where they beat Njampela 2-1 to secure promotion.
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