2020-04-01 Forbes Africa

APRIL 2020 FORBES AFRICA| 89

FORBESAFRICA

SPORT• SOUTH AFRICA

FORBESAFRICA.COM

T

HEREARETIMESINBUSINESSAND

inlifewheresuccesscomesquickerthan

youexpect,forcingyoutoreevaluateyour

positionandworkouta newplantogo

hand-in-handwiththisacceleratedgrowth.

Thatis thestoryofnewly-formedStellenboschFC,

whohaveloftyambitionstobecomeoneofthebiggest

footballingbrandsinSouthAfrica,butneverexpected

tohavemadesuchrapidprogresstowardsthatgoalin

sucha shortspaceoftime.

Theclubwasformedin 2016 whenthefranchiseof

NationalFirstDivisionsideVascodaGamawassold,

theteamrelocatedtotheCapeWinelandsinSouth

Africa,andrebrandedwiththenameoftheirnewtown.

Theyseta five-yearplantowinpromotiontothe

PremierSoccerLeague(PSL),thehighestdivisionin

SouthAfricanfootball,butmanagedit injustthree,

leavingeventheircoach,SteveBarker,somewhat

surprised.

“Wedidn’texpectit tohappensoquickly,so

obviouslythathasaffectedourplans,”Barkertells

FORBESAFRICA.

“Iwouldnotsayit cameasa shock,butit wasa

surpriseandwesuddenlysawourselvesinthePSL

witha squadthathadnotbeendevelopedyetforthat

league.Soit meantthefirstmonthsoftheseason,until

wecouldbringinsomereinforcements,werequite

challenging.”

ButStellenboschhaveheldtheirownandby

mid-Februarywerepunchingabovetheirweightin

mid-table.

Theclubhasa heavyweightinvestorinRemgro,

whoseinterestcanbetracedallthewayuptoSouth

AfricanbillionaireJohannRupert,whogrewupin

Stellenboschandstillresidesthere.

Rupert,69,whois thechairmanofSwissluxury

goodsfirmCompagnieFinanciereRichemontbest

knownforthebrandsCartierandMontblanc,hasan

estimatednetworthof$5billion,asofmid-March,

accordingtoForbes.

Hisfondnessforsportis well-documentedand

visiblethroughhisTwitterhandle@Cutmaker.

Soit isclearthatStellenboschhavefinancial

resourcesattheirdisposal,whichcould

potentiallycatapultthemtothetopofthegame,

withtheclubalreadyflexingtheirmusclesinthe

Januarytransferwindowtobringinheralded

ZambiainternationalmidfielderNathanSinkala,a

majorcoupforBarker.

“Heisa bigsigningforus,it ismassiveinfact

tohavea playerofhiscaliberhere.Wehopeit is

the first of many, and the start of us being able to

NathanSinkalais a bigsigningforus,

it is massiveto havea playerof his

caliberhere.Wehopeit is thefirstof

many,andthestartof usbeingable

to attracttopplayers to the club.

• Steve Barker

attracttopplayerstotheclub.

“WewantyoungplayerstolookatStellenbosch,lookatwhat

weareachievingandourtrophycabinet,andwanttocomeand

playherebecausewearea successfulclub.Thatis whatweare

workingtowards,”addsBarker.

Butthereis a lotmoretotheambitionofRupertthanwinning

trophies,hebroughttheclubtoStellenboschbecausehewanted

tocreatea pathwaytotheprofessionalgameforyoungstersinthe

Winelands.

“Wewanttobea homegrownclubinthatmostofourplayers

comefromtheareaandthatis a projectwearebuildingtowards.

Wearecreatingopportunityforkidsandshowingthemthe path to

thePSL,”Barkersays.

“Withtheworld-classfacilitieswehaveattheHigh

PerformanceCentreinStellenbosch,wecancompetewith

anybodyonthatlevel.Thisis anexcitingprojectwithgreatsupport

andI firmlybelievewecanbecomea topclubinthiscountry.”

Stellenbosch’srapidelevationtothePSLhashadonenegative

effect,theclubhavehadtoplaytheirhomematchesinCapeTown,

some 45 minutesawayfromtheirlocalsupport.

Thatis becausetheirIdasValleyhomedoesnotmeetthe

minimumrequirementofthePSLintermsofinfrastructureto

hosttop-flightmatches,butBarkerhopestheywillbebackin

Stellenboschsoon.

“Whenyouareinvolvedintightgamesandyouwantthat

crowdsupportbehindyoulikewewouldhaveatIdasValley,soit

hasbeendisappointingforus.

“Butwearehopingtoplaythelastfewhomegamesofthis

seasoninStellenboschandwewilldefinitelybe there permanently

from the next campaign. Then look out!”

Photo by Shaun Roy/Gallo Images; Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images