Manning Rangers is a defunct South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n football club formerly based in Durban

Durban

Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

 and probably best remembered as the champions of the inaugural season of the Premier Soccer League

Premier Soccer League

Premier Soccer League is the trading name of the National Soccer League of South Africa. The top league is the ABSA Premiership, sponsored by ABSA...

. The club went into bankruptcy

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

 in 2006, but in 2007 the Fidentia Group bought the club for about R

South African rand

The rand is the currency of South Africa. It takes its name from the Witwatersrand , the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and where most of South Africa's gold deposits were found. The rand has the symbol "R" and is subdivided into 100 cents, symbol "c"...

 2.5 million, renamed it Fidentia Rangers and relocated the team to Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

.

History

The club was founded in 1928 by GR Naidoo who, as well as administering the club, played as its goalkeeper and later served as a referee. In the mid-1960s the club entered the professional ranks under the auspices of the South African Soccer League

South African Soccer League

The South African Soccer League is a former association football league based in South Africa. It was formed in 1961 and folded in 1967. It was established by the South African Soccer Federation which represented the black African, Coloured and Indian population...

. In 1985 the club moved its base from Curries Fountain to Chatsworth. The club entered the 1st Division of the NSL (National Soccer League) in 1991.

In 1996/97 the inaugural season of the Premier Soccer League, the unfancied Maulers stunned everybody with a fairy tale

Fairy tale

A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...

 season and managed an impressive 23-5-6 record finishing top of the table with 74 points and becoming champions ahead bigger clubs such as the Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns

Mamelodi Sundowns

Mamelodi Sundowns are a South African football club that plays in the Premier Soccer League.Since 2003, Sundowns are owned by rand billionaire Patrice Motsepe....

 and Orlando Pirates.

The club was unable to repeat this success however, but remained in the Premier Soccer League for several seasons. In 1998/99 the team represented South Africa in the African Champions Cup losing out to eventual winners ASEC Abidjan of Cote d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire

The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...

. In 2005 the club was relegated into the Mvela Golden League and later went into bankruptcy

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

 in 2006.

The club has since been purchased and renamed as Fidentia Rangers.

An Added Note: The club has since resurfaced in Chatsworth under the name Rangers FC on a semi professional basis. The team are currently one league below the Mvela 1st Division featuring former player Clinton Larsson as coach.

Notable players

Mark Davies Most appearances for the club. Simon Makhubela Most goals for the club. Keryn Jordan

Keryn Jordan

Keryn Jordan is a former South African footballer who last played for Auckland City FC in the New Zealand Football Championship. He announced his retirement on 19 March 2010 due to on-going Knee injuries....

 Most goals in a season for the club with 22. Innocent Chikoya Most games in a single season with 43 Gilbert Mushangazhike

Gilbert Mushangazhike

Gilbert Mushangazhike is a Zimbabwean association football striker who plays for Mpumalanga Black Aces in the South African Premier Soccer League.-Clubs:*1991-1995: Fire Batteries*1995-1996: 1...

 Zimbabwean international striker. Bruce Grobbelaar

Bruce Grobbelaar

Bruce David Grobbelaar is a former football goalkeeper and manager.He played for a number of clubs in a career which spanned for more than 20 years at professional level, most notably Liverpool during their dominant period in the 1980s and early 1990s.-Early years:In his teenage years, Grobbelaar...

 Zimbabwean international goalkeeper, coach 2004-05. George Koumantarakis

George Koumantarakis

Georgios "George" Koumantarakis is a retired South African football player of Greek descent. He was born in Athens, Greece but grew up in Durban, South Africa....

 South African internationalist and 1995 Title winner Mark Tovey Zoran Pesic

Zoran Pešic

Zoran Pešić is a Serbian rugby league player , who plays mainly at . He has represented Serbia many times, and had a brief stint with the London Skolars in 2006. He currently plays for Red Star Rugby League Club in Belgrade....

Major Honours

• PSL Champions 1996/97
• Osman Spice Works Cup 1985
• FPL Knockout Winners 1979, 89
• Coca-Cola Shield 1977