Dr leepile taunyane biography for kids

1928-2013

LEEPILE Taunyane, who has died at the age of 84, was a legendary football administrator, school principal and civic activist.

He played a leading role in the professionalisation of black soccer, which led to the formation of the National Premier Soccer League in 1971.

This was led somewhat dictatorially by George Thabe, who was criticised for imposing the government's race policies too dogmatically on the game.

When members lost faith in his leadership they formed the avowedly anti-apartheid National Soccer League in the mid-1980s and asked Taunyane, vice president of the SA National Football Association from 1978 to 1985 and president of the Transvaal Football Association from 1974 to 1985, to manage it.

Rampant egos, conflicting agendas and corruption made it a challenging job.

Taunyane pulled it off to widespread acclaim, probably the only person in the local professional game at the time with the visi