Local football agent Nimrod Mbhalati has revealed the reasons behind the establishment of his Nida Sports Academy in Soweto. The academy, which is set to open its doors on Monday 6 February, aims to identify and nurture talent for topflight clubs.
Mbhalati, who currently has a number of DStv Premiership players in his Nida Sports stable, including Marumo Gallants’ Katlego Otladisa and Stellenbosch defender Olwethu Makhanya amongst others, has partnered with Lebogang ‘Guluvha’ Mashishi to launch the academy.
Speaking to the Siya crew, Mbhalati said, “We have decided to launch a Nida Sports Football Academy here in Soweto and we spoke with Protea Glen Secondary School to ask them to allow us have a base in their school and they didn’t give us any problems. The main reason for this academy is that we always have requests from development coaches looking for players for various positions and in most cases, we don’t have those young boys in our stable, hence we decided to have an academy where we will train them and teach them football basics, so that when a team requests a player, we know who to send.”
He added, “My partner, Lebogang ‘Guluvha’ Mashishi has a link in Europe where he normally takes young boys to go and try their luck that side actually, and he is Europe as we speak with a group of young boys so this Nida Sports Football Academy will also assist in that regard.”
The academy is set to provide a platform for young players to showcase their talent and gain exposure in the football industry. Through this initiative, Mbhalati and Mashishi are hoping to bridge the gap between local talent and topflight clubs.
