New Chippa United reserves manager-coach Carlos Mtshamba says his priority is to include Eastern Cape village and township talent in their MultiChoice DStv Diski Challenge squad.
Mtshamba was announced as the side’s mentor on Tuesday, with the club also moving their reserves squad from Gqeberha to the Buffalo City Stadium.
The club’s chair, Siviwe Mpengesi, said the move to East London was because the fields in Nelson Mandela Bay had not met the rigorous standards of the PSL and Fifa.
Chippa’s MultiChoice DStv Diski Challenge team previously used the Isaac Wolfson Stadium in Kwazakhele.
But that facility, as reported earlier in August, was deemed unfit by PSL official Ronnie Schloss.
Mtshamba holds a CAF C licence, which he passed in May, and is known in the Eastern Cape football domain for his Carlos Academy.
The academy produced Scottish side Livingston’s winger Aphelele Teto, now on loan with Chippa’s senior team, and Lunje Noqobo, who recently represented the SA U17, together with dozens of other players now plying their trade in PSL team junior ranks.
He has relinquished his position as head of the academy and his assistants will be handling day-to-day happenings, freeing him up to focus on his new role to scout and develop promising players from every corner of the Eastern Cape.
The end goal is to strengthen the Chippa reserve team with fresh, local talent, according to Mpengesi.
Mtshamba said: “I had a deep conversation with the chair, and he told me his plan and I understood his vision.
“The new job is not different from what I have been doing in the past few years.”
Mpengesi’s vision includes holistic player development.
He said he had applied to establish a fully accredited secondary school around the Buffalo City Stadium.
“This school will provide our young footballers with a quality education alongside their football training, ensuring they grow both on and off the pitch,” Mpengesi said.
In 2023, it was reported that one of the country’s independent school groups, Curro, could soon open its doors in East London.
At the time, Mpengesi said he had serious engagements with the Curro management about the possibility of them opening in the Buffalo City metro.
A senior executive from the school confirmed ongoing talks with Mpengesi about the possibility.
If it all goes smoothly, Mtshamba will be part of that set-up.
Mtshamba spent most of last season on the sidelines with Chippa first team co-coaches Kwanele Kopo and Thabo September before taking on the head coach role as the reserves head.
He will get his tenure under way against Marumo Gallants in the MultiChoice DStv Diski Challenge at the Buffalo City Stadium on Saturday, followed by a trip to Kaizer Chiefs next week.
Chippa finished in 13th position in the Diski Challenge standings and in a bid to change their fortunes around, Mtshamba said there were 20 players in his camp already, only 15 short of the 35 required for a season.
“We will have trials in the coming days where we will be able to add players that impress us,” he said.
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