Chippa United
Chippa United v
Wikipedia - Chippa United F.C.
Chippa United Football Club (often known as Chilli boys or Chippa) is a South African professional football club based in East London in the Eastern Cape province, having previously been based in Nyanga suburb of the city of Cape Town. The club's first team currently plays in the Premier Soccer League's Premier Division, with the reserve team playing in the PSL's reserve league. The team plays most of its home games at the Buffalo City Stadium, while hosting night matches at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
History
The club was founded in January 2010 when Chippa Mpengesi purchased the Vodacom League franchise of Paarl based club, Mbekweni Cosmos, for R400,000. Cosmos had won promotion from the Castle League at the end of the 2008–09 season, and started campaigning in the Vodacom League in the 2009–10 season. In 2010–11 season, the club began playing under the name, Chippa United.
Chippa United's first season was very successful with the club winning the Western Cape Vodacom League before winning the Vodacom League National Coastal Stream to achieve promotion to the National First Division. Chippa were also crowned the overall 2010–11 Vodacom League National champions after beating Inland Stream winners Sivutsa Stars.
The club finished their debut season in the National First Division in 2nd place behind University of Pretoria and won promotion to the Premier Soccer League via the play-offs in June 2012. Chippa used five managers during the course of the 2012–13 PSL season and finished 15th, eventually getting relegated after failing to win the playoffs.
A feeder team, called Peace Makers, was once owned by Chippa United, and ran teams under the club's umbrella. It ran a team in the SAFA Second Division and also junior teams in Cape Town's junior leagues. The Peace Makers franchise was sold to Milano United before the beginning of the 2013–14 season. In Port Elizabeth the club runs its youth teams under the Chippa United name, and play in the Port Elizabeth Football Association leagues.
Ownership
Chippa United is wholly owned by Chippa Investment Holdings, which is a Cape Town-based construction, security and cleaning company founded by Siviwe "Chippa" Mpengesi.
During 2015, the club was effectively under the administration of Access Facilities and Leisure Management, the operating company of Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Chippa United is known for its passionate fan base and exciting style of play on the field. The team's colors are blue and white, and they play their home matches at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Over the years, Chippa United has had some success in domestic competitions, including reaching the final of the Nedbank Cup in 2017. The team has also produced talented players who have gone on to represent South Africa at the international level.
Chippa United is a club with a rich history and a bright future, and they continue to be a competitive force in South African soccer.