Milford prioritise local talent as owner Xanti Pupuma explains no foreign signings

Milford owner-coach Xanti Pupuma says the club have not yet needed to recruit foreign players, with their commitment to developing homegrown talent continuing to shape the squad’s recruitment policy.

The newcomers made a strong first impression in the Premiership despite losing 2-0 to the reigning league champions at Orlando Amstel Arena on Saturday. Oswin Appollis and Tshepang Moremi scored for the home side in Milford’s first match in South Africa’s top flight.

Milford’s squad is largely made up of players who have been with the club since their early years in the lower divisions. Every member of the current squad is South African, and Pupuma believes the group has enough quality to help the club survive its first season among the country’s elite.

The club could have used its opportunity to strengthen with at least one foreign player, but Pupuma said Milford had not identified a suitable target and had instead chosen to continue backing players from their own area.

“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 received suggestions from agents and other club owners about bringing in overseas players, but that the club’s first choice had always been to promote local talent, particularly from around Richards Bay.

“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 policy was not motivated by any negative view of foreign players. Instead, he said the decision reflected Milford’s values and its desire to involve people from the Eastern Cape as the club develops.

He also left open the possibility that Milford could eventually recruit players from outside South Africa as the team gains more experience in the professional game.

“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.

The owner-coach said personal connections and an understanding of a player’s background were also important factors in that preference.

“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.”

For now, Milford will continue in the Premiership with a squad built around players who have progressed with the club from the ABC Motsepe League. Their opening defeat may have ended without points, but the performance gave the newcomers an encouraging start against the reigning champions.