Milford owner-coach Xanti Pupuma says the club has not yet needed to recruit overseas players, with the newly promoted side committed to developing and selecting South African talent as it begins life in the Premiership.
Milford made an encouraging start to their first top-flight campaign despite a 2-0 defeat by the reigning league champions at Orlando Amstel Arena on Saturday. Oswin Appollis and Tshepang Moremi scored for the home side, but Milford’s performance offered evidence that their squad could compete at the highest level.
The club’s team is largely made up of players who have been with Milford since their early years in the lower divisions. All of the players in the squad are South African, and Pupuma says the club has not felt compelled to change that policy by bringing in foreign recruits.
Milford’s rise has been built on players who progressed from the ABC Motsepe League, and Pupuma believes that experience explains why the club has so far remained focused on local footballers.
“We’re a team that’s coming up with players from ABC Motsepe League. It’s very rare that you have foreign players in the ABC Motsepe League, so we took these guys and came up to the MFC with them and now we are proceeding with them even in the Premiership,” Pupuma stated.
He said Milford had not seriously explored the overseas market, although the club had received proposals from agents and other team owners.
“We haven’t had an opportunity to say we’re looking outside. Unfortunately we haven’t identified any foreign players. There have been suggestions from agents and other team owners [to sign foreign players], but we’ve always wanted to give first preference to local boys from around Richards Bay.”
Pupuma, who comes from Nqamakwe in the Eastern Cape, stressed that the decision was based on Milford’s principles rather than any opposition to signing players from outside South Africa. He also left open the possibility that the club’s recruitment strategy could change as it gains more experience in the professional game.
The owner-coach said Milford wanted to provide opportunities for players from the Eastern Cape, while also maintaining a clear preference for local talent when two players were considered to be of a similar standard.
“And us [as Milford owners] coming from the Eastern Cape, we also want to involve the Eastern Cape people in bolstering the team, so as long as there’s a player from Nqamakwe that is at the same level as a player from Zimbabwe, I am going to take the one from Nqamakwe,” Pupuma stated.
That approach, he said, was rooted in familiarity with the players and their backgrounds rather than a rejection of non-South Africans.
“Not that I have a problem with people from outside, but I feel that I’d relate more with a Nqamakwe boy knowing where he’s coming from. Maybe going forward, as we grow in the professional ranks that will change.”
Milford will therefore continue their maiden Premiership season with a squad shaped largely by the club’s development through the lower divisions. For now, Pupuma remains confident that the players who helped secure the club’s progress can also keep them in the top flight.
