STILL IN TOUCH FUN FACTS

KENNEDY MAKARA (PART 1)

Heita, Kenny! Good to be still in touch with you. What’s your current occupation, by the way?

We are running a small business, a security company, fully registered. On the football side, there are aspiring young boys that we’re trying to assist. Recently, I was talking to Godfrey Sapula, who has now been appointed the national coach for the U15, I think. So now when we go about identifying talent, we can always recommend to Godfrey, reason being we have a social team of soccer legends. We get to meet and reminisce of the good old days and obviously talk about football because that will always be part of our topics. Some of the legends that are there are Doctor Khumalo, Pollen Ndlanya, Thapelo Liau, Molefi Ntsoelengoe, Lebohang Kukame and Steve Lekoelea. Happy Jele has joined us after retiring from football. Siphiwe Tshabalala is there. We also assist Tshabalala because he also has his games, the Siphiwe Tshabalala Goodwill Games. So, we are just assisting each other in every way possible. I’m also a member of the soccer legends… there’s an association that is an affiliate member of SAFA. In Gauteng, it is chaired by Shakes Mashaba. The executive there is bo (the likes of) Finky Sekete, Juda Duiker who played in the 1970s for Moroka Swallows when some of us were still young. It’s called the South African Masters and Legends Association and I think a lot of South Africans know about it. I’m very much part of it, trying to make sure that when some of the legends, especially those that are at a very late stage of their lives, pass on, we give their families the necessary support. We give them decent funerals. We are working with B3 (Funeral Services) as part of their CSI (corporate social investment). Even though there are monthly subscriptions that we contribute, as little as R100, but then the funeral package that they give us in respect of what we did for this country, we are grateful to them as well as Diale Funerals in the West Rand. These are the people who make sure that when we leave this earth, we leave as the soccer stars that we were before.

Must be great to catch up with the lads and reminisce about those old times now and again.

Definitely! Definitely! We’ve got our WhatsApp group there, we call it Profs Legends, profs meaning professionals. That is our home. You know, I think it was on Saturday, I posted in the group about a game of Bloemfontein Celtic against Free State Stars that took place in 2001. Siphiwe Mkhonza, who is also part of the group, was still our captain. You know watching that game knowing some of these guys were still young … I mean, now we are in our 50s most of us … it brought back good memo

Kennedy Qhoa (now Makara) had a brief playing career, turning out for Bloemfontein Celtic for only one season. He had joined the club in the 1998/99 campaign after impressing the late Styles Phumo on trial. Injury put paid to any hopes he had of impressing and making a name for himself in the PSL, forcing him ries. Some of the guys were 25, others were 26, others even as young as 20, ha, ha, ha. Ja, it’s always nice to reminisce.

Sadly, Celtic had their topflight status sold a few seasons back, which was met with shock and disgust in some quarters…

You know, my brother, that was a decision that was hard to swallow. If you go to Bloemfontein now, you can feel that there is a funeral. The death of Celtic there, my brother, it’s evident every corner you go there. And you still see a lot of people wearing those green and white shirts there because Celtic will always be green and white. But we are hopeful that one day Celtic will be born again through many ways – buying of a status and everything, because there must be Bloemfontein Celtic. Imagine what does that do to people like bo Ntate (Petrus) Molemela, who contributed so much to football. You know, Ntate Molemela never benefited anything from football but instead, selflessly contributed to football. It pains us because the only professional home I know in South Africa, beside Cape Town Black Bees and Swallows Big XI, is Celtic. So, what will I say to my children? Because I know Celtic would never be relegated, but the manner in which they left our shores was sad. I respect that decision, I believe in the leadership of bo Dr. Irvin Khoza, but I’m pleading with the powers that be that please, let us bring Bloemfontein Celtic back. I’m happy that we have Royal AM and great contributors to football like bo MaMkhize (Shauwn Mkhize), who brought so much change. I have nothing against her buying Celtic out. There were reasons, I might not know some of the reasons, but what I know is that it is sad that we don’t have Celtic. But I believe that the powers that be will one day bring back Celtic because it must come back. Bloemfontein Celtic is only dead on paper, but there is Bloemfontein Celtic into early retirement. That said, the former defender, a native of Lesotho, is spoken highly of by those who watched him in action. That huge setback did nothing, however, to diminish the passion Makara has always possessed for the game, and to this day he is involved in coaching youngsters. “I’ll die a footballer,” he declares. somewhere there.

Actually, we understand the club is currently campaigning in the ABC Motsepe League. So, how did you join the club in the first place? I’m proud to say that when we went to trials invited by the late Style Phumo from Lesotho, it took only 15 minutes. It was myself, ukame, Liau and his brother, Tsotang. ere was Kgotso Moloi. There was another y also, named Vusi Thwala. We were piring youngsters. Because Styles d an eye for football talent, together ith Leonard Ponoane, in 15 minutes e were signed, and that was in the 998/99 season. So, I played for only ne season because I remember our ast game was televised. I was excited as was always the case for players in those days when the game was on TV. We were playing against Jomo Cosmos, that Cosmos of Andrew Rabutla and them. Then after the game, I had a chat with George Nechironga, who was one of our great strikers there. He’s still in Zimbabwe. He said to me, “He monna, during the off-season, come to Zimbabwe.” So, I was planning to go to Zimbabwe, but fate decided otherwise and I never went to Zimbabwe. I said, “No, let me just come home, probably for a week or two, then I’ll be going to Zimbabwe.” But then it happened that I went to play off-season games where professional footballers used to play. In that game that we played, there was Thabang Lebese – may his soul rest in peace. Thabo Mooki was there. Liau was also there. Tsepo Molatedi was there. So, we always liked to play games just to keep fit during the off-season because you know, you need to keep oiling your machines because ours was just playing football. If you were having fun, it was football. If you were working, it was football, you know. Unfortunately, I met that terrible incident that put an end to my career.

First paycheque: R3 000

Biggest bonus: R1 000

Opponent I respected the most: Doctor Khumalo & Roger Feutmba

Team I’d have loved to play for: Orlando Pirates

Favourite PSL player right now: Themba Zwane

Best coach I played under: Styles Phumo

Craziest request from a fan: Ha, ha, ha, I will share later!

Sounds hectic, tell us about it!

I got tackled hard by the goalkeeper there and then I fractured both my tibia and fibula bones. As we speak now, there’s still a metal plate on my foot, many years later. I did the operation there. That’s how my soccer career inside the field ended, not outside the field. I’ll be a footballer until I die. But no hard feelings, God decided. Maybe He wanted me to pursue this career that I’m pursuing. Then, my brother, there was a game before (that one of) Cosmos… I think we were playing SuperSport (United) at Caledonian Stadium. I had marked Thomas Madigage to the point where he got substituted and then I was scouted by some agent from Belgium, I still remember very well. That time we had no agents. I had to talk to Bra Stopper… I just remember him as Bra Stopper, he was one of the best coaches we had in Soweto there during the Godfrey Moloi Games. He was from Phiri Mapetla, coaching a team called Fast XI. I told him, “Bra Stopper, this guy approached me and I gave this guy your numbers.” Imagine, while I was still in hospital, that guy called and said they wanted to prepare a visa for me to come to the trials in Belgium. When I saw the nature of the injury and what the doctors had said, I destroyed the phone right there and then! I knew that that would not happen, so to avoid the hurt and everything… Even when I came out of hospital, I never watched any football games. But then reality, you know, got the better of me. I’m a footballer, I was born a footballer. Liau brought me back to football. I went to Ria Stars games when he was playing for them, and I want to thank Mam’ Ria (Ledwaba) for welcoming me at that time. Those were the people who were sympathizing with me, saying, “Do not worry, these things happen.”

Sad story, but let’s cheer up a little bit next week by sharing some crazy moments from the past.

Can’t wait, ha, ha…