Kevin Mudie’s passion for football: Achieving the impossible with development football
Randburg AFC coach Kevin Mudie‘s unwavering dedication to football shines through in the next generation of young players at the club, as he overcomes the challenging circumstances faced by development coaches in South Africa in the advancement of the beautiful game.
Through his dedication and love for football, together with the Randburg family, he achieves the seemingly impossible as the club consistently produces stellar footballers and young men who contribute positively to society.
Who is Kevin Mudie?
Mudie, who grew up in Durban, began his football journey at the tender age of four. His passion for the game was immediate, he said, and he would often play with his brother, regardless of where they were. All he knew was that he wanted to play football.
Mudie competed in age group football up until the age of 17, but he was then required to serve in the army during the apartheid era. After his two years of compulsory national service, he returned to Durban where he approached coach Clive Barker about an opportunity to play with Durban City.
He enjoyed a successful five-year stint with the club, helping it claim the league title in 1982-83. Then, he spent a year with AmaZulu FC on loan.
Mudie subsequently relocated to Johannesburg and signed with PG Rangers. However, he lasted only 5-6 months with the club. Despite being a part of a talented and hardworking team, he was dissatisfied with its coaching environment.
Two days after being placed on the club’s transfer list, Terry Paine of Wits University FC signed him up. Mudie then spent five satisfying years turning out for the Students.
Throughout his 13-year career in the top-flight, he was a regular goal-scorer, tallying an impressive 137 goals.
Exploring Kevin Mudie’s path in coaching and his services at Randburg AFC
After hanging up his boots, Mudie assisted Terry Paine at Wits for one year. His coaching ambitions lay elsewhere, however, and he told Paine he wanted to turn his attention to working with kids. When 2024 rolls around shortly, it will mark 35 five years since he began working with development age footballers at Randburg AFC.
Vastly experienced in that arena, Mudie said South Africa possesses immense footballing talent, but there is a lot that needs to be addressed in order to enable players from a development background to contribute positively towards Bafana Bafana and the nation.
To become a better and winning nation in the sport, clubs need to become better facilitators for the youth, he explained.
“Most Premier Soccer League clubs do not have junior set-ups, and that is a big gap. There is no emphasis on our youth. The youth is the future and, if not properly trained at a junior level, we are putting at them at a disadvantage at an older age.”
Mudie said that football in South Africa has grown enormously, and since his playing days the opportunities for professionals, including financially, have been greatly enhanced. ‘There is more intensity,” he said, “but there is still a certain lack of quality in a lot of areas in our game that we need to embark on as coaches and administrators.”
Development challenges faced in South Africa
“The biggest challenge faced by players at the development stage is that many coaches are hell-bent on winning, which is not wrong. However, we need to develop players and to never lose sight of the end-goal, and that is to develop kids so that they become better tomorrow.”
Mudie said one of the challenges that South Africa faces, and which is a common trend across the world, is age cheating. “We need to get rid of it”, he stated.
Facilities, too, need to be better maintained, he added. “Countries like the USA, Australia, and most of the European nations, plough money into development and that is something that we need to look at collectively,” he continued.
Randburg Family
Mudie described Randburg as more than a club. It is a family, he reckoned.
The club is fortunate to have players who are willing to join, regardless of their social and cultural background. Since its inception, it has experienced smooth growth, with people from all walks of life joining as coaches, players, and staff members.
He attributed Randburg’s success to its strength in unity. Its growth, Mudie said, had a lot to do with the word of mouth, and people being drawn to it because of its successes.
His goals while working with Randburg AFC are to see children from underprivileged backgrounds excelling in their careers, whether those careers are in football or not.
Mudie said he hopes to see the club continuing to thrive and to keep sending young players to bigger clubs, as it has done in the past.
He concluded by urging those bigger clubs to acknowledge and compensate academies and clubs which nurture young players. He said he has witnessed coaches speaking to players at Randburg without approaching the club. Such behaviour by professional clubs is inappropriate, Mudie said.
Randburg AFC successes
Owethu Khumalo now plays for Moroka Swallows and made professional debut on Saturday, 11th of November, in a 0-0 draw against Polokwane City.
Luke Holden, the Randburg goalkeeper, joined the Mamelodi Sundowns FC Youth Academy.
Mickayle Arendse now plays for the Orlando Pirates FC Multichoice Diski Challenge side.
Ime Okon now plays for SuperSport United FC.
Thando Mthethwa, a 19-year-old goalkeeper plays for Hungry Lions in the National First Division.
