“With your presence here, we want to inspire,” uMlalazi’s municipality mayor, TB Zulu, said in a warm word of welcome to the Kaizer Chiefs Legends upon arrival on Friday night. The legends will today, Saturday 4 June, play against an uMlalazi XI at the Eshowe Sports Club Stadium in Eshowe. Entrance is free.

The match comes at the back of the Mayoral School Tournament, which involved 54 high schools and included five sport codes: soccer, netball, rugby, athletics and volleyball. This was followed by the Mayoral Cup, which was organised as well to spot local soccer talent. The final of the Mayoral Cup will be played today after the legends encounter between Chiefs and uMlalazi.

Derrick Spencer, one of the Chiefs legends, was born in Eshowe, the biggest city in the Greater Municipality of uMlalazi.

The Amalegends were also invited to help spread the message about the importance of education. It’s mayor TB Zulu’s goal to use sport to promote education or, as Chiefs’ Ntsie Maphike mentioned in a speech: “Let’s spread knowledge through sport, because knowledge is power.”

Another aspect of the Chiefs legends’ visit was to help promote health awareness, including the dangers of HIV/Aids.

“A healthy body culminates in a healthy mind,” mayor TB Zulu stressed. This issue was also discussed in a meeting the Amakhosi legends had without about 100 young students at the Umfolozi Tvet College.

The Chiefs legends have come to KwaZulu-Natal with a strong side, including Brian Baloyi, Cyril Nzama, Arthur Zwane, Frank Makua, Fabian McCarthy, Ace Khuse, Siyabonga Nkosi and Doctor Khumalo.

“We just want to make sure to make everybody happy,” midfielder Khuse promises ahead of Saturday’s encounter. “It won’t be easy, but we are here to play good football and win the game.”

Khuse furthermore says that “I always love playing in KwaZulu-Natal, that’s because on the field, you can always feel the love and the respect the supporters have for the Kaizer Chiefs Brand. That’s so motivating and you want to give back by entertaining the crowd with quality soccer.”