‘My wife stood by me’
“Anything can happen to you when you are in there and some of it is so scary and disgusting, I cannot even mention. Luckily for me, I did a lot for them on the field and so I earned their respect for that.
“I was the guy that could take them out to the field and show them freedom because I could sign that they go out and exercise for two to three hours a day. It is difficult to have a guy who can help you enjoy such privileges in prison.
“Some of the guys in there didn’t even know how to write a letter. I had to help write a letter for every second or third person that came to me because they are not skilled. They have too much drugs and smoke in their heads so it’s all blurry for them.
“I mean, these are guys that never had time for school. They could talk a lot but when it comes to writing they are not so clever. Some of them just believed only in violence but I could deal and calm most of them, which is why the head of prison even
The support that Jansen got wasn’t restricted to the time when he was incarcerated.
His wife was pregnant when he was sentenced but remained forever a pillar of strength and stood by him, so much so that they remain together to his day.
Straight out of prison Jansen was still able to play for Hanover Park in the First Division during the 2008/09 season in a team featuring Alfred Ndengane, managing 11 appearances before moving on to play in the ABC Motsepe League for the next six years, including a spell with Chippa United in their early years.
“I am still married to the same woman, Sheryl. She has been a pillar in my life and stood by me all the time. God gave me a woman that I can still be proud of up to now. It goes to show this love was never about money but real commitment. She is the one that prays every morning with me providing
because I trained, while with carpentry, I have the experience as I have done it since I was a teenager.
“I am very good with my hands and I am always available when there is work to be done, which is why we are one of the main schools in the Western Cape. I am enjoying the job even though the mindset of teenage kids is different.
“Some of them get the picture when
I talk about how my life has been. They don’t know the history of what I have been through but see me as a guy who is just working there. They don’t know the person that I am in the soccer fraternity.
“Then on the days when I am off, I help my older sister with the coaching courses that she is doing under Boebie Solomons and Desiree Ellis. My job is to try and make a difference as well. I am involved in various coaching projects including at a shelter, just for the sake of helping because I still have a passion for this game,” he details.
Jansen notes that though the remuneration from his current job doesn’t compare to what he earned in football, it has helped him pay off the bond of the house where is staying in Hanover Park.
“The highest that I ever earned in football was at Santos, which was R18,000 per month and this was more than 15 years ago. At Ajax you will never earn a lot, but they are a club that takes care of players in a decent way. Santos was a business club back then where you had to bring your skill and be paid for it.
“So, when I compare what I earn now to what I earned back then it makes it peanuts. Right now, I am far from earning half of what I earned at Santos back then. In football, I earned enough to make a decent living while here I am just scrapping through.
“What matters is that I can live through what I am getting. You know that in this life you must find a way through with what you are earning.
“The pleasure is that I finished paying off the bond for the house in June. The house belonged to my parents, but my mother passed away four years ago, while my stepfather died eight months ago. I have continued paying the bond for the house and June was the last month to pay, which means the house is now mine.
“Everything is now under my name. The bond was between R1500-R1700 for a couple of years, but it came down to R1000 and the R1000 that I paid in June was the last.