Moffat Mdluli went from being on the wanted list of teams like Kaizer Chiefs to disappearing into football obscurity for six years. Instead of wallowing in self-pity like many would have done, the midfielder kept himself busy by participating in five-a-side football, where he turned out for Orlando Pirates Fives, and thanks to some timely intervention from a former coach, he managed to resurrect his career with Royal AM in 2020. How good that must have felt! However, his comeback was marred by a reported fallout with the club, with whom he still has an ongoing case of unfair dismissal. Soccer Laduma's Delmain Faver caught up with the 33-year-old, who shares his experience on his time away from the game, talks about representing South Africa in the Fives World Cup and reveals why he thinks the smaller format of the game should be explored further in the country.
Delmain Faver: Moffat, what's the latest regarding your situation?
Moffat Mdluli: What happened is, after my contract with Free State Stars, it was not easy for me to get a team. I guess in my career I was never blessed with a good agent, honestly speaking. Now I didn't get that support on that other side of football, in terms of an agent, because there was no one for me from the start. There was a guy I worked with, Mike Fola, and I was just happy with the fact that I got an opportunity from him because he's the one that took me to SuperSport (United). After that, I've been having problems with agents. You know in this industry, as much as you're doing well, you need someone to also push on that other side.
DF: Sure. Why have you stayed away from the game for so long?
MM: So, after my contract with Free State Stars, I couldn't find a team. When I tried to call coaches (it was) stories after stories. Then I went back to Alex United, where I started playing. I played there for a season or two and then I started playing fives (five-a- side football) because I still had the legs and I was still hungry for an opportunity. But I remember after a year without a team, I went to Highlands Park. I had trials and I did very well and I even went to pre-season with them. It was me and (Mxolisi) Kunene, who is playing at AmaZulu FC now. It was only me and him left in that team when they signed (Collins) Mbesuma; (Peter) Shalulile was still there. They took us with to pre-season and everything looked fine for us. We did well in friendlies and then when we came back after camp, they told us they can't sign us. Luckily for Kunene, after a few months he was signed by Baroka FC and then Maritzburg. But I couldn't find a team afterwards. However, I kept on playing because I have the love for the game and I was still hungry. I never stopped. Even the Royal AM opportunity, when it came, I was in good shape for my age, and I did contribute to that team because I'm sure a lot of people are asking themselves, "Why would they sign a guy who was without a team for six years?" But because of the fire in me and the energy as I still believed in myself, my confidence was still up there.
DF: Championship mentality.
MM: Even with fives, we did very well with Orlando Pirates Fives if you check our records because we won a lot of things during that time. It shows that we were still hungry even at our age and after everything that happened. Remember most of the guys in that team were out of contract, (it was) players who played in the NFD (National First Division, officially known as Motsepe Foundation Championship) and PSL (topflight) in the team. So, we organised ourselves, we formed the team and we started killing teams. It was good because we could have been frustrated or stressed about, like, how things were going. We feel in this country, when you reach about 28, then you start not getting teams. If you are not playing for a year, you must just forget, it won't be easy for you, you understand? So, we still had the hunger and we were able to travel and while we were travelling, we were still doing good. It was good for us because I understand we were not where we wanted to be, but because of the love and because we're good at it, we kept on going, we never stopped and that opened up an opportunity for me. When I was called by Royal AM for assessment, I was ready.
DF: How did that move happen?
MM: I used to work with coach Floyd Mogale at Free State Stars and because I had him on Facebook, he started seeing our posts – whenever we'd go overseas, for example. He's very good in development and he understands the game from that point of view because he's been in the game for so long. So, I remember I still had an interview with Baba Mthethwa when we came back from Argentina. I think a lot of people saw it, so he was interested in seeing that okay, these guys have been playing. They never stopped because they don't have contracts or anything. He started following us and then he came to one tournament and he was very happy with our shape and how we were still going on, how we were still pushing. Then he was like, "I might be getting an opportunity soon, I think I'll invite you to give you a chance because I feel like in this country they never give you a chance. But you've proved yourself in other countries that you can still play. The first thing I'll do as soon as I get it, I'll make sure I invite you guys." So, he invited me, Joker (Jose Garcia) and Kyle (Koert) to Royal AM. I was the only one that signed.
DF: In March this year, however, media reports had it that you were escorted from the Royal AM training fields, with the club later ordered to pay you out for unfair dismissal. Care to provide clarity on the matter?
MM: Unfortunately, for now, I'm going to have to say no comment on this one because of the ongoing case that I have with the team. I will, however, be able to comment on the matter once it has been resolved. I hope you understand.
DF: Fair enough. Playing five-aside football with Orlando Pirates Fives, how did that come about?
MM: After playing for Alex United, I was back at home just keeping fit, so a friend of mine invited me to come play with them. He was playing for Football Flava and then when I left Flava, I was at home again. You know, with life, especially with these fives things, you never know. You can't just think you'll play the whole year because sometimes they just stop, you understand? Kyle was the first player to go to Pirates Fives and he gave me a call to say, "Mof, come play with us", and then when I went there, I got guys like Houston Hills, Gusty (Auguston Leonard). That's how we started and when we started, it was bad, and you can imagine because now it's a newly-formed team with good players, but it's not easy to just kick it off like that and start winning games. We started badly because of combinations and stuff, but after some time, we started doing so well. I think another thing is, we respected the game even though it was not even paying. When we said we were meeting at 15h00, everyone was there. That was the difference with us. Whenever we travelled overseas, we never had any problem of people misbehaving or drugs or alcohol – nothing like that. It's always been like everyone who was there respected the game and that was nice because when you leave your home and you get to that place, everyone has the same dream, everyone wants to win. Everyone has the same goals. It may have been like we were just playing for fun, but even at our age and not having contracts, we were still hungry to achieve more.
DF: You were even selected to be part of the South Africa's Fives World Cup squad in 2019. What was that like for you?
MM: It was tough, it was not easy. We played tough tournaments in our country. We have top teams when it comes to Fives. But what we experienced in the Fives World Cup was totally different because you can imagine playing against South Americans, North Africans, guys from Morocco. It was tough, but I guess if there's something we are blessed with in this country, it is the raw talent because if you check properly, most of the guys, even the guys that make it in football from our country, they come from disadvantaged backgrounds. If you can check, they are used to playing 'one pal' in the street, which teaches you something. We had to adapt because we tried to play according to Fives structure and everything, but we ended up doing our own South African thing because it's in our blood, no one can teach us that. We played it like 'one pal' and we killed teams.
DF: In countries like Brazil, Futsal is seen as an entry to 11-a-side football, where players learn the basics and then later progress. Do you think a similar format could be followed in Mzansi?
MM: Yes, I think as a country we should invest in that because it's football-related. As a young boy… let's say I'm 10 or 11, I want to take part in a match, I want to be involved when we have the ball, I want to be involved when we lose the ball, but if you play 11-a-side, some of the kids don't get involved, and where's the development there? Because you go to a match, but all you do is just kick the ball forward, but you don't really take charge. But if you play Fives, you are involved when you have the ball, you are involved when you don't have the ball and it's good for development. I feel like every country should invest in that. It will really help because you can imagine being involved like that at the age of 10, it teaches you a lot. But some players in our country start adjusting to that when they are about 18 or 19. They can't even track their runner, but if you can grow up with tracking your runner, you know what you have to do. You become a special player. That's why the Brazilians have their special players and all their special players come from Futsal… all of them. If you check the history, the Neymars come from there because you are playing in a compact space and you have to create chances from there, you have to make sure your team has the ball, you have to make sure that you defend well. So, you can imagine as a young boy growing up into that, it helps you a lot when you get to age 15, you know what is expected of you.
DF: Obviously with five-a-side, you can play well after your 30s and even post-retirement. Is it something you'd recommend to your fellow pros?
MM: Yes, I think that would be a great thing because even those guys still wanna play, you understand? They still wanna enjoy themselves and fives is a good platform because I remember even when we played against the Argentinians, all of them were in their 40s but they were a top team and they even went on to lose in the finals. But the way they play, you can tell that these guys have been playing for so long and they have the structure where ex-PSL players can go play, ex-professional players can go and enjoy. So, I feel like because we are a nation like Brazilians, we love football … you can go anywhere in the township, you see boys having the ball next to them and see 11 boys playing with one ball. So, what I can say is we can't now, after professional (football), think we can just go maybe to coaching only. I feel like we still have the chance to go and kick the ball.
MOFFAT MDLULI FACT FILE
Full name: Skhumbuzo Moffat Mdluli
Date of birth: 1 October 1989
Place of birth: Soweto, Gauteng
Position: Midfielder
Jersey number: 46
Club: None
Previous clubs: Free State Stars, Polokwane City, SuperSport United, Royal AM, Orlando Pirates Fives
Honours: 2011/12 Nedbank Cup winner, 2012/13 MTN8 runner-up, 2012/13Nedbank Cup runner-up (all with Super-Sport), 2020/21 National First Division champion (with Royal AM)
