Thursday | July 4, 2024
Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club (FC) confirmed on Wednesday July 3, 2024 that head coach Rhulani Mokwena has left his position.
Speaking to Robert Marawa on Marawa Sports Worldwide, Highveld Stereo (94.7 radio station in Johannesburg), Vuma FM, Rise FM and SowetanLive last night, Mokwena hinted that his “hand was forced” to resign from Sundowns. Although he could not disclose much and insisted that he wanted to stay at the club, it is apparent that there were machinations behind the closed boardrooms baying for head.
The club’s official communique said the decision to cut ties with the coach was made by the Mamelodi Sundowns FC Board in light of the set “objectives and expectations of the Club”.
When Marawa pressed him to reveal more, Mokwena indicated that he could not let the cat out of the bag because he was bound by “confidentiality” clauses signed between him and the club. Even so, he was at pains not trying to divulge much to the public.
At 37 years of age, Mokwena boasts many trophies with Mamelodi Sundowns having led them to their 7th consecutive DStv Premiership League title in the 2023/2024 campaign. He took over the reins in 2020/2021 as Joint-Head Coach with Manqoba Mngqithi when the then head coach Pitso Mosimani dropped a bombshell and suddenly quit after renewing his contract to four years.
From 2014 to 2017, Mokwena was Mosimane’s assistant. He came through the club’s developmental structures and Mosimane promoted him to the senior club. The latter was enlisted in 2020 by the Egyptian giants Al Ahly Sport Club.
In November 2023, Mokwena helped Sundowns lift the inaugural African Football League (AFL) after beating Wydad Athletic Club from Morocco. As he has intimated in many interviews, AFL is one of his most notable continental accolades.
In the interim, the club statement said coach Manqoba Mngqithi will assume responsibilities with the aid of the technical team for the new (2024/2025) season.
Mokwena’s had three years left in his contract, however, things did not turn on the way him and the club agree. His decision to leave the club follows Steve Komphela’s departure in July 2023. Komphela was hired in 2020 as the senior coach behind Mokwena and Mngqithi who had joint responsibilities as head coaches.
Rhulani Mokwena is one of the successful young coaches in South Africa. In this volatile sport, he joined Orlando Pirates FC as an assistant coach in 2017 and became a caretaker coach in 2019 before he was courted by Chippa United FC. As the Head Coach at Chippa, he stayed there until 2020 when he reunited with Mosimane at Sundowns. Currently, it is unknown where he is headed to.