Majoro and Khune join forces to develop South Africa’s next goal scorers and goalkeepers

Former Bafana Bafana team-mates Lehlohonolo Majoro and Itumeleng Khune are combining their experience to develop the next generation of South African strikers and goalkeepers.

The close friends have taken their partnership beyond the pitch, working together to improve the skills of young players in South Africa and elsewhere.

Majoro, who scored nearly 100 goals in the top flight during spells with AmaZulu, Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, Bidvest Wits and Cape Town City, is regarded as one of the finest strikers to have played in the PSL.

The 40-year-old has also qualified as a radiographer, but football remains central to his work since retiring. He has established the Major Elite Soccer Strikers Academy (MESSA), which focuses on developing forwards, and is working towards his CAF coaching credentials.

His move into coaching and player development has been supported by the P Management agency and Khune, his long-time friend.

Khune, meanwhile, enjoyed a distinguished career as a goalkeeper with Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana. He won 91 caps for his country and represented them at the World Cup on home soil.

He has since created Distribution 101, an academy designed to help produce the next generation of high-level goalkeepers.

The pair believe their different areas of expertise complement each other. Strikers must find ways to beat goalkeepers, while goalkeepers need to understand how to prevent forwards from scoring.

“Khune opened Distribution 101, which I had been encouraging him to launch,” Majoro told IOL Sport.

“With his experience and knowledge of the game, he has to pass it on to the youngsters, especially goalkeepers. He has had a huge influence on local football and in neighbouring countries.

“We do talk about this: the good things that are done by goalkeepers, and the mistakes that they make. I also spent a lot of time studying goalkeeping. That’s how I always had an urge to know what they were thinking, and what I needed to do to score goals.

“It’s a win-win situation. He (Khune) also knows how strikers think, and that can only make his goalkeepers better.”

Majoro played for both Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, although his strongest association is with Pirates. That history means the two friends support rival sides when the clubs meet in the Soweto derby, adding another dimension to their relationship.