Kaizer Chiefs hosted a memorable reunion with the club’s iconic Class of 1989 at the Nelson Mandela Foundation this past weekend.
Members of the quadruple-winning team of 1989 included the likes of Mark Tovey, William Shongwe, Mike Mangena, Gardner Seale, Shane Macgregor, Albert Bwalya and Gary Bailey, who were all present at the event.
The Class of ’89 gathered at the Nelson Mandela Foundation for an intimate tour hosted by NMF CEO Sello Hatang before proceeding to the late Madiba’s Houghton residence, the Sanctuary Mandela, which has now been converted into a boutique hotel.
The tour gave the Amakhosi greats the opportunity to rekindle memories and reminisce on their playing days while representing the gold and black of Chiefs.
“These engagements with our legends are very crucial for the club. We pulled this gathering off in a short space of time, but we are very happy to work with our former players to host these kinds of events,” Chiefs marketing director Jessica Motaung told the club’s official website.
“Engaging with the class of 1989 helped us understand from a human and football element just what these extraordinary players meant to us as a club and to football in the country – and also what drove them to succeed.”
Former Chiefs goalkeeper Gary Bailey praised Shane Macgregor for his contribution to the team’s success after he scored 19 goals that campaign.
“Shane’s contributions were immense. He showed what a strong team we had all around, with four great attackers, a strong midfield with Doctor Khumalo, a solid defence and me and William Shongwe rotating in goal. I think this was the best team in the history of South African club football,” Bailey said.
Another attendee, Mike ‘Sporo’ Mangena, who scored four goals in 16 games during that campaign, was complimentary of his former teammates.
“It was an honour to play with these guys. We had a good team and we were very close. Thirty-three years is a long time. We need to meet sooner and not wait so long,” said Mangena.
Former Chiefs defender Rudolph Seale said: “When I joined Chiefs I was scared. I was happy at Giant Blackpool, then look at all these names. But these guys made life easy for me and I enjoyed my time at the club.”
Fromer Zambia striker Albert Bwalya gave numerous anecdotes on his time at Chiefs and spoke of his love for the Soweto giants.
“To this day I still feel the love for this team, and they for me. They continue to remember me to this day. From the beginning my story in getting to Chiefs is an interesting one and given the political situation at the time it took me a journey via Lesotho and Eswatini [formerly Swaziland] to get to this great team,” Bwalya said.
Former Chiefs defender Mark Tovey joked that ”most people remember Neil. I was better than him and I think I won more than him”, before adding: “It was an honour to have played for this team, and it still is an honour to have represented this club and have won what we did in 1989”.
In conclusion, Motaung said: “We have a few more of these reunions planned for the coming year. It is crucial for us as a club to connect with our past, as it makes us stronger going forward. We hope to include our current senior team and youth team players in some of these events in the future.”
