BOTTOM TO THE TOP?

AMBITIOUS JDR STARS OWNER NDITSHENTI Met i lonnls Sc) His SIGHTS ON AFIRST IN SOUTH AFRICAN FOOTBALL

- Mogamad Allie

As a club bearing the initials of two offspring of the owner, Nditsheni Nemasisi, who doubles as team coach, there is an uncanny similarity between JDR Stars and former PSL side Jomo Cosmos, who had the legendary Jomo Sono as owner and coach.

JDR represents the initials of son Junior Donald and daughter Rolivhuwa, the two children Nemasisi already had when he started the team.

Stars, who are based in the township of Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, play their home games at the nearby Giant Stadium, which was upgraded to be used as a training venue for the 2010 World Cup South Africa hosted.

The club was formed in 2011 by the Venda-born Nemasisi, who runs his own legal practice. Nemasisi N Attorneys, in Kyalami, one of Johannesburg's upmarket northern suburbs.

After he bought the franchise of Mamelodi side Mams Teachers, who were campaigning in the regional SAB League, the fourth tier of South African football, the ambitious lawyer, 29 at the time, began his mission of seeing his team eventually rising to the PSL.

"I want to complete the dream of becoming the one and only coach to have promoted a team from SAB to PSL that will only be me in South Africa", he told the FarPost website.