AmaZulu Football Club Media Officer and the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Journalism alumnus Brilliant Mkhathini, said his strong passion for sports and writing positioned him to be where he is today.

He was introduced to the AmaZulu team when the club was doing a bit of rebranding in 2010, positioning itself into reaching out to the younger generation. This club was formerly known as the ‘one club’ that was supported by elders. When he came to the club they were introducing their new logo, jersey and moving the club to a new, successful route. “My vision and aim for the club is to attract younger people in the market and gain media space for the team, as it is part of my job,” he said.

He grew up playing soccer but his job is not aligned with playing the game. “We only play social matches with colleagues and usually play in a Corporate League where it involves sponsors. This is done because it is for socialising with different people from different spheres. We have a media sports game where different people from the media in KwaZulu – Natal come together to play soccer for building media relationships,” he said.

“I am a very passionate person and I can say confidently that my strength is in writing, I like writing as it has opened many doors for me. The advice that I would like to give anyone who wants to follow in my footsteps is to identify the area where you are most likely to be strong in.,” he said.

He added that Football is a short term career goal where anything can happen but having an education gives one something that is long term.

“Journalism has helped me a lot, it has equipped me greatly for my current role at AmaZulu. I write press releases, news pieces, content for our media platforms, and take photos because we are not a big department. We need to be quite hands on with everything which will allow the brand to go forward,” he said.

Mkhathini added that he was grateful for every opportunity and knew had he not pursued a career in writing, he would have grabbed any opportunity that came his way.

Pictured:  Brilliant Mkhathini

Sanele Xaba