Shauwn Mkhize (MaMkhize) defends her son Andile Mpisane as he gets attacked

South African businesswoman and Reality TV star, Shauwn Mkhize says the decision to have her son Andile Mpisane play on Saturday was solely the coach’s decision.

Royal AM beat Kaizer Chiefs to lift the Macufe Cup on Sunday in Bloemfontein.

Speaking to broadcaster Andile Ncube of Metro FM’s Sports Night Amplified, Shauwn said the coach decided to let him play and was not getting special treatment as the club’s chair.

“There is one thing people don’t know about Andile, as much as he is my son, he goes to training like every player. He trains with the team and Andile is the one who brought me into soccer because of his love for football. I used to cheer for him when he used to play at AmaZulu.”

MaMkhize announced she bought Bloemfontein Celtic Ladies in July, who according to TimesLIVE, campaigned in the SA Football Association-run Hollywood Bets Super League, and renamed them Royal AM Ladies.

“The sale package of Bloemfontein Celtics FC to Royal AM FC last year included the ladies team. But unfortunately we were unable to manage and run the team at that time. On Friday we announced the launch of Royal AM Ladies FC, which was formally Bloemfontein Celtics Ladies FC. All the players and technical team, including coach Thato Haraba, are still part of the team.”

The businesswoman elected her daughter-in-law Tamia Mpisane deputy chair of the Royal AM ladies. Explaining her decision to the publication, she said Tamia was from a football family. Her uncle Sifiso Biyela is the owner of Richards Bay FC and it was a natural fit.

“The future of football is in the youth and why not have the younger generation leading from the front? Tamia is going to contribute significantly to the administration, running, and overall success of the ladies’ team.”