Gynecologist Builds Milford FC's Top-Flight Infrastructure in Record Two-Year Sprint

Milford FC’s debut in South Africa’s Premiership begins this weekend against defending champions Orlando Pirates, a fixture that will immediately test whether a club that reached the top flight in just two seasons can hold its own at the highest level.

The man responsible for delivering that performance operates under an unusual schedule. Xanti Pupuma, 48, runs a gynecology practice in Richards Bay until 3 PM each day, then crosses into his second professional role as coach and owner of Milford FC. Ward rounds and consultations occupy his mornings. Training sessions, two hours long, follow in the late afternoon. On Thursdays, theater commitments push him to hand over training duties to his assistant coaches entirely.

This is not a hobby arrangement. Milford secured promotion through the Premier Soccer League’s end-of-season playoffs and now takes its place among 16 clubs in the 2026-27 Premiership season. The operational framework Pupuma has built around his medical schedule is the same one that got them here.

The precedent for this kind of dual commitment exists, though it is rare. Argentine Carlos Bilardo worked as a gynecologist while coaching Estudiantes in the 1970s before guiding Argentina to the 1986 FIFA World Cup title. Pupuma’s situation mirrors that parallel precisely, down to the medical specialization.

What changed Milford’s trajectory was a single result. Two seasons ago, in the opening round of the Nedbank Cup, the club eliminated Kaizer Chiefs, one of South African football’s most established names. Pupuma has been direct about what that meant. “It’s amazing what is happening to us. I think that game against Chiefs gave us belief and saved our season actually. From there onwards, it’s been up and up,” he told Forbes Africa.

The club has since built on that momentum, expanding its supporter base and community engagement. Pupuma has also outlined ambitions to deepen ties with Transkei, in the Eastern Cape province where he was born, with a possible future relocation of home matches to the region.

On the pitch, Milford’s approach will not shift to accommodate the step up in competition. “We’re not going to change. We’re going to try by all means to play our game because that’s how we train. That’s what we know,” Pupuma stated. Attacking football, then, is both the identity and the plan.

The opening fixture against Orlando Pirates is the first real measure of whether that plan holds. Milford’s two-season climb is already a story. Whether Pupuma’s divided schedule can sustain a full Premiership campaign is the question the season will answer.