'I am back': Andile Mpisane returns to football with his mother’s Mbabane Highlanders AM
I am back: Andile Mpisane, son of Durban businesswoman and Mbabane Highlanders AM chairperson Shauwn Mkhize has announced his return to the field. Photo: Instagram
Image: Instagram
A week after he was spotted training with Eswatini club Mbabane Highlanders AM in Pietermaritzburg, Andile Mpisane has announced on his Instagram page that he is returning to football.
"I am back," read a story posted on Mpisane's official page.
The 24-year-old DJ, rapper, and son of Durban businesswoman Shauwn Mkhize, was last seen on the football pitch in December last year, when he played for his mother's club, Royal AM in the Betway Premiership.
Since then, Royal AM’s problems have been well documented. The club was kicked out of the PSL earlier this year after being placed under curatorship to help recoup the R40 million owner Mkhize owed to the taxman.
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After the club’s demise, Mkhize moved on to become the Mbabane Highlanders owner. She later rebranded the club to Mbabane Highlanders AM to feature her son’s initials.
After taking over the club, Mkhize said in an interview with Metro FM that her son would be transitioning to the administrative side of the game and was done playing.
“Even when Royal AM was there, he was starting to learn the administrative part of it,” Mkhize said about her son at the time.
“I think all he wanted was to play in the elite league – which he did, he tasted that… I don’t know, but for now I think he prefers to be in the management space. I don’t see him going [to Eswatini], but he enjoys being in the business side of things.”
On the field, however, his performances told a different story. One game that stands out when judging his ability is last year’s clash against Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs. Mpisane looked out of his depth as Chiefs dominated, racing to a 2–0 lead before half-time.
After Mpisane was taken off at half-time, Royal AM regrouped and played better, eventually earning a credible 2-2 draw. He never started another game after that and the club played just three more games before their games were suspended and the team later kicked out of the league.
IOL Sport