Where’s our Hall of Fame?

Dr. Kaizer Motaung’s induction into the South African Hall of Fame, last Thursday – November 9, 2023, revived a conversation we’ve had in our newsroom, for years now, about the need for South African football to have its own Hall of Fame in honour and recognition of those who paved the way for the current crop of contributors in our football. This way, we will be ensuring that their contribution to the Beautiful Game is never lost.

Ideally, people like “Chincha Guluva” shouldn’t have to wait for the SAHOF to be honoured and it is about time we start our own Hall of Fame! This is something that the football fraternity should consider because there is a reason the American entertainment industry regards this as a high form of honour for those who gave their all to the industry. Their basketball and boxing feel the same, hence they have their respective Hall of Fame for all those who contributed to making these sporting codes what they are today. This is a clear indication that these people are mindful of the importance of recording history. These are people who are very much aware of the need to keep the legacy alive, making sure that those who entertained us, long after they are gone, their names remain relevant. They also use the same names as motivation for the current generation as they give them something to work towards. A typical example is what happened in basketball in February when, NBA (National Basket Association) legendary centre, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, had his extraordinary scoring record broken by Los Angeles Lakers small forward/power forward Lebron James after generation after generation of players came up short. If you missed the excitement that came with Lebron’s record-breaking performance and what followed, then you will be forgiven for not getting the point.

That was history in the making and something that a couple of next generations will be working towards. For Lebron to beat that record was him making his own history. The good thing is that Lebron’s achievement reinforced the memories Kareem created and his name became even more relevant, decades after he had retired. That is why the legend had to be courtside when his record was broken so that he could hand the baton over to the current record holder. That way, even kids born a few years ago can connect the dots in the history of basketball. These are moments that should be recorded because they keep the sport’s history alive and we don’t see that in football. You hear of football records broken, but it is just mentioned in passing because there is no interest in recording our history. Some players don’t even know about the records held by former players of their current clubs, let alone the club’s history, and you’d think this should be part of their induction and continued learnings about the club. To this day, those of us who were unfortunately born too late to see the great Percy Moloi, Teenage Dladla, Patson “Sparks” Banda, Ace Ntsoelengoe, Jomo Sono, Mlungisi Ngubane, Banks Setlhodi, Kaizer Motaung and many other legends will never really know how great these players were except for the stories we hear about them from time to time.

Those of us who happened to be in close proximity to those who played with and against them, we were lucky enough to get bits and pieces of information on how great these legends were. If current football people know more about boxing, basketball or entertainment history than the number one sporting code in our country, what does that say about the future of our Beautiful Game? We see more and more interest on European football now that the current generation knows more about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo than the legends mentioned above, because that’s all they are exposed to on a daily basis. This is a serious indictment on ourselves because it just goes to show how little we value our history and those who paved the way. One of the ways to preserve our history is to record the legacy of the match officials, players, coaches and everyone who contributed to the game alive by having initiatives such as the South African Football Hall of Fame. That will go a long way in pushing the current crop to make sure they leave a mark when they retire so that they can find themselves listed amongst the greatest to ever do it. In 2021, the NBA – founded in 1946 – celebrated their 75th anniversary with the announcement of the top 75 players of all time! This list included 11 active players and the 50 that was part of the 50th anniversary in 1996. Can you imagine how it felt for the 11 current players to rub shoulders with legends who played long before they were born? The list obviously caused a stir, which is to be expected whenever there is voting and opinion. That’s good for all parties concerned because it keeps the conversation going, but can you imagine how many players these 75 were selected out of? Orlando Pirates is the last club to do something similar when they had to shortlist 80 legends for their 80th anniversary six years ago. There were names on that list that some of the current Bucs supporters would never have watched, but their mere mention on that list invoked curiosity to find out about them. By so doing, the legends are kept in the conversation and their legacy is kept alive.

With lack of history, there are bound to be so many distorted accounts of events because history, by nature, depends on and is told through the eye of the one narrating the story. Sometimes this is not always a true reflection of what happened, but when you have nothing to check the information against, you are bound to take whatever is given to you, as gospel truth.

One thinks it is vitally important for people to be acknowledged, celebrated and honoured while they are still alive for their contribution to the Beautiful Game. So that the future generations know where this game came from and who are some of the key figures who have played a significant role in shaping it. That way, they will have people to emulate and records to aim for. If other sporting codes are giving their people their flowers while they can still smell them, what’s stopping us? It is only after they’ve taken their last breath that we give great tributes about our legends and that has to stop, at some point. The powers that be should definitely consider something along the lines of having the South African Football Hall of Fame so that we restore and maintain our football’s history.

When you look at our football, some people think it only started in 1992 with Bafana Bafana or, even worse, the Class of 1996 which won the only Afcon title we have, because those are some of the most popular figures today. There are different generations before the group that represented us in 1996, but most of those legends are forgotten – dead or alive. Surely we can do something about keeping these people’s legacies alive so that people like Dr. Motaung get their due recognition from football, the game they grew up in, played and continue to serve way beyond their pension age. It is not right for South Africans not to know about our legends. Legends like Mohammed Ali, Floyd Mayweather, Denzel Washington, Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson and many others will forever be remembered because their achievements were recorded. Even beyond death, their legacy lives on, but can we say the same about some of our former footballers?

On a different note, congratulations to Mamelodi Sundowns for winning the inaugural African Football League by beating archrivals Wydad Casablanca 3-2 on aggregate in the two-legged final. Ka Bo Yellow continue to push the envelope and that can only be great for South African football!