Following their calamitous 2010 World Cup, the English football team trudged home hero-less. But there was one man in their training camp they praised.
They could not remember anyone in recent years so passionate about football as the local man who had served as team liaison for their time in South Africa.
Following their calamitous 2010 World Cup, the English football team trudged home hero-less. But there was one man in their training camp they praised.
They could not remember anyone in recent years so passionate about football as the local man who had served as team liaison for their time in South Africa.
And who was this man, full of love for the beautiful game? None other than the new head of sport at Rhodes University, Mandla Gagayi.
“I just love sport,” says Gagayi from his office overlooking the hockey astro. “Growing up in Soweto I played all the sports I could, except for rugby”. He explained: “Being the smallest in the group has its drawbacks.”
During high school in Alice in the Eastern Cape and his BA at NMMU (then the University of Port Elizabeth), that love only grew, taking the athletic Gagayi to a spot in the SA Universities football team – soccer was always his top game.
But, despite his accolades, the man sees the wood for the trees when it comes to sport. “At Rhodes we focus on the well-roundedness of students,” he says. “We’re not in the business of recruiting top athletes from around the country and giving them ridiculous bursaries to play for us.”
And it doesn’t matter what sport you play, either: “We treat chess, netball and rugby all the same,” he says.
Gagayi is not in the business of sport, he says, but prefers the challenge of moulding students to be valuable members of society.
Gagayi has spent nearly a decade at Rhodes sport, starting out in 2002 as a sports officer. He had a brief spell away as a sports administrator for Cacadu in 2008, but returned after eight months to take up the position of assistant manager.
Over the years, he seems to have gained nothing but the respect and friendship of his colleagues. Xolani Ngcikhwe, assistant sports officer at Rhodes, has worked with Gagayi over the past year and is upbeat about the future with a new man at the helm.
He calls Gagayi “dynamic and energetic” and speaks highly of the principles he brings to the institution. “His strongest point is that he’s very hands-on,” he says. “If he says he’ll do something, he follows through.”
Perhaps Gagayi’s biggest project at present is the re-branding of Rhodes sport. “Everything is getting a fresh look and feel, right from facilities to the new website to stationery,” he says.
And in keeping with his stance that students should drive Rhodes sport, he wants the “creativity and passion” to come from them. “Even the website will be kept alive by students,” he says.
Gagayi understands the special culture of Rhodes sport, but brings his own style to the captaincy of this ship. One statement sums up his accessible and friendly approach: “Rhodes sport is about wellness, balance and creating leaders. And our doors are always open to help achieve this.”
