Naidoo: Helping revive Manning Rangers

CHATSWORTH-based Clive Naidoo is a stalwart of KwaZulu-Natal football club Manning Rangers. Naidoo helped to organise supporters when the Durban-based team won the inaugural edition of the South African Premiership in 1997.

The club has since gained entry to the fourth tier of South African football, and Naidoo is once again in the set-up as the club looks to achieve its long-term aim of playing in the professional ranks of South African football again. The SAB team is owned by Pastor Sanjay Balram.

Naidoo’s interest in the game started as a youngster when he attended games at the famous Currie’s Fountain Stadium, a hub of non-racial sport.

“I come from a strong Christian background and sport was important. My father (David Naidoo) coached a semi-professional cricket side in Benoni and owned a cricket team called Xactics. I used to spend time there watching cricket,” said Naidoo.

His participation in soccer started when his late uncle, Colin Naidoo, invited him to join Colchester football club, and he later went on to join Aberdeen Spurs in Phoenix. As a striker in his heyday as a footballer, Naidoo was renowned for scoring some breathtaking goals.

“I became a famous player there (at Colchester), scoring goals in a lot of games. I continued playing and watching football and started loving football. I admired (UK players) Peter Beardsley and John Barnes. At Spurs we won the league in our first season, and were runners-up in the divisional cup. That’s where my senior football career kicked off,” said Naidoo. After moving back to Chatsworth, he attended a Manning Rangers game and was asked by the late Alan Chetty to join the club.

“He knew me because he saw me in the Rising Sun, as I worked as a sports coach and PE teacher at various schools in Chatsworth. He asked me to form a junior development team, which I did.

We had about 112 juniors and we coached them. I coached the U13 team and started playing again. I approached Alan to start a division three senior team. We were runners-up in the league in the first two seasons, and won the divisional knockout cup in the third season,” said Naidoo.

Naidoo was part of Rangers through thick and thin, including when the professional team reached a low point and ceased to exist in 2005 due to financial difficulties.

“It was disappointing. The club had a bright future. There were no sponsors and nobody showed interest in coming on board and furthering the professionalism of Rangers and what the club stood for,” he said.

Naidoo now serves as assistant coach of the reformed Manning Rangers team, assisting head coach Walter Mkhize, guided by the late Alan Chetty.

“We plucked out some great talent in Chatsworth and put a team together. The Maulers are back and the goal is to get back to the professional leagues and play at Chatsworth Stadium. I strongly believe that the stadium was built for Rangers,” said Naidoo.

He regards one of his greatest achievements as helping Padavatan Primary School win the first city-wide basketball tournament in 2007. Pakistani cricket legend Wasim Akram attended and presented the team with the trophy.

Another milestone was in 2018 when he helped Kingswood Academy win the first street cricket tournament in Chatsworth. They were undefeated in the tournament. Kingswood went on to represent Chatsworth at the district final at Kingsmead Stadium against the Kwa Mashu and Umlazi districts team.

Naidoo works at the Mission for Christ Private Christian School in Chatsworth as a sports coach.