By Vata Ngobeni
Move out of the way Patrice Motsepe, there's a new millionaire in soccer.
Azziz Kara has pulled out all the stops in ensuring that his expensively assembled FC AK squad for this year's Mvela Golden League season are well prepared to make their mark in the Premier Soccer League next season.
After spending millions in enticing big name players from the PSL to join his team, Kara has vowed that South African soccer will never be the same again.
Furthermore, Kara has put his money where his mouth is by promising that FC AK will only spend one season in the Mvela League before gaining promotion into the PSL.
And if anyone doubts that, Kara has the money to prove it just like Motsepe has done with PSL champions Mamelodi Sundowns.
"We want to challenge the norm. We have assembled the best team possible and every player has been hand-picked for this team. We are going to the PSL next year," said Kara at his team's launch at the Southern Sun Grayston in Johannesburg on Thursday.
And the only way into the PSL for Kara and his new team was first a deal that saw the Johannesburg-based businessman buy the status of Mabopane Young Masters in the Mvela and then to follow it up with the acquisition of some big name players mainly from Orlando Pirates.
FC AK are certainly going to be the most spoken about soccer team in the country with the likes of Edelbert Dinha, Lucky Qaba, Danies Mwape, Edzai Kasinawyo, Dan Semake, Charles Yohane, Perry Mutapa, Daniel Sailor Tshabalala, Mandla Zwane and Thabang Stemmer just some of the former PSL names that will be plying their trade with the Eldorado Park team.
And if there are any detractors regarding Kara's vision for the team, they are probably in doubt about themselves as Kara has already got the ball rolling.
"This is the birth of something new. I love soccer and it has been my dream since I was a kid to own a team. I'm the new kid on the block and this is an "ordinary" trying to do extraordinary things. Soon we will be launching our own radio station and we are going to build our own stadium. We also want to become a dominant force in South African soccer," said Kara.
Motsepe may have pioneered the involvement of the country's black elite into soccer with his injection of millions of rand into Sundowns but Kara has dared to start at the bottom and proven, yet again, that money can buy you everything.
"This launch signifies the development of the game, especially the growth of the Mvela League. In the past, teams in the PSL did not look forward to being relegated but since the inception of the Mvela League, teams in the PSL want to get relegated," said the Mvela League's general manager Andrew Dipela. - Sapa