MARKETING GURU

Transnet School of Excellence product Tshepo Mashishi never quite scaled the heights some of the development school’s graduates were able to achieve, but the smartest thing he ever did was position himself for life outside the rigours of football. In this

The reality that tends to be ignored by footballers during their heydays is the fact that a playing career has a limited lifespan and comes to an end eventually. Too many footballers only realise this in the twilight of their playing days and then reluctantly go into retirement without a plan of how to earn a living, let alone sustain their lifestyles. One of a very few who have not found themselves caught up in this web and scrambling into coaching as the only resort is Tshepo Mashishi. Mashishi never reached the heights of being a superstar in professional football, but played for a decade and quit the game already armed with means of continuing his comfortable lifestyle. “I always knew that there would come a time when I would stop playing football,” he says. “My intention was always to get into the corporate world, which is why, while I was playing, I studied marketing, sports administration and then sports management. I felt I needed to acquire the knowledge first, as a way of positioning myself.” “Shoes” is now the regional football marketing manager at Puma, and provides a refreshing story that is different to what most former footballers are doing in trying to squeeze into coaching as their last resort. “My passion was always in marketing and luckily I stayed in the sports industry,” says Mashishi. “With this job, I am basically the logistics guy here in Gauteng, in that I do all player and club contracts and then ensure the marketing rights are adhered to. Some people might think this job is easy, but what helped in my case is that I already had relationships from my playing days. When this opportunity at Puma came in 2012 I was still doing my internship with ProSport International [a player management agency]. The company needed someone to manage football and here I was. I always knew coaching was not for me, which is why the only coaching I do is when I give instructions to my six-year-old son when he plays with his friends.” A roving right-back during his playing days, the 37-year-old was actually in the first-ever class of teenagers admitted to the oncefamed Transnet School of Excellence in 1994 after being recommended by Farouk Khan. That celebrated group – known as “The Dragons” – had Dillon Sheppard, Gerald Sibeko, China Masondo and Lucky Maselesele, amongst others. “Those were the glory days of the school with production very high, and it was all because we were well taken care of at the time,” he recalls. After matriculating, Mashishi joined Kaizer Chiefs, working his way into the first team, but game time proved elusive at the turn of the millennium. This forced him to move to Maritzburg City in the National First Division. It was a famous City team that featured the likes of ofMbuleloMbulelo Mabizela, Jimmy Tau, Andile Cele and Mlungisi Gumbi, with Manqoba Mngqithi amongst those in the technical team. That City team is remembered for knocking out Ajax Cape Town in the BOB Save Super Bowl (now Nedbank Cup) in 2001. “That was one of the most talented teams I played for. It was quality,” he says, giggling. Mashishi then found his way to Benoni Premier United and was part of the squad that played under the amalgamated Premier United/Hellenic franchise during the 2003/04 season, when the they were bought by Dumisani Ndlovu, and then relocated to the Gauteng East Rand. Premier United were relegated back to the First Division, but Mashishi, like many others, stayed on and won promotion in 2006 via the relegation/promotion play-offs. He remained with the club when it was bought by the Thanda Group in 2007, by which time the former youth international was captain. Next up were spells with Maritzburg United and Mpumalanga Black Aces, where his career eventually came to an end in 2010. “Quitting football was not as dramatic as having to go around looking for contracts everywhere,” he says. “I stopped because I didn’t enjoy going to training and into camp for games anymore. I felt that injuries had also taken their toll on me. I didn’t have any fears of retiring at all because I had studied, so I knew I would have a starting point. The plus for me was that I never lived an extravagant life in my playing days and was therefore able to maintain my lifestyle post my playing days. “The only trouble I had was that for a year or two after the end of my career I hated playing football because of what injuries had done to my career. I then gradually found my way back into the game when I started going to stadiums. I now play socially and I am enjoying the game again.”

“MY INTENTION WAS ALWAYS TO GET INTO THE CORPORATE WORLD.”