PODCAST | I learnt coaching from Doctor Khumalo: Morgan Mammila

Morgan Mammila says he was prepared for and learnt elements of coaching from Kaizer Chiefs legend Doctor Khumalo.

Mammila’s progression from an administrator to head coach of Chippa United has raised eyebrows, especially since he only had a Caf D-license qualification.

Some tough initial criticism has been met by a good run of results for the Eastern Cape club who won in Mammila’s first four DStv Premiership games in charge, then lost a match and drew another before the seven-week recess for the 2022 World Cup.

Mammila also recently completed 15-day Caf C-license coaching course in Germiston.

“It was an honour to be given the opportunity by Safa-Ekurhuleni. Credit to my friend [United owner Siviwe] ‘Chippa’ Mpengesi for paying for me to get the C-license,” he told Marawa Sports Worldwide.

“To be honest coaching was not my thing. I thought I would stop at the administrative side of football.

“But Chippa saw something and me asked me to sit on the bench for the first time. Luckily when he asked me there was a [Caf] D-license course in PE [Gqeberha].

“When I started sitting on the bench I immediately started the D-license course. Then there was the C-license course offered by Safa-Ekurhuleni.”

Mammila was  Baroka FC’s CEO and roped in Khumalo as technical director from August 2017 to June 2018.

Asked if, now he has a better qualification, he felt he should be paid more at Chippa, Mammila said he thought not because he is still learning the coaching profession.

“I’m crawling, but I’m crawling fast,” he said. “I am a student of this game.

“ Doctor Khumalo prepared me for coaching. When he came to Baroka as technical director I asked him to help coach Kgoloko Thobejane and take over the training sessions, while Kgoloko worked on tactics.

“After each session we would sit at home, because we were staying together for almost a year — so actually I was learning from him for a year. We would sit and he would explain everything from the first session to the last.

“By the way Doctor is qualified as a [coaching] instructor. So I was taught coaching by this gentleman for a year.”

Mammila downplayed previous media statements that he would like to coach Bafana Bafana one day, saying: “As things stand in my life there is only one team I will coach, which is Chippa United.”

He said if he manages to obtain a Caf A-license he could consider coaching another club.

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