Grant, you have Mamelodi Sundowns Mashego and DJ first-ever Mamelodi Tell us about
Masebe Qina: partnered with teammate Terrence Dinho to host the Festive Tournament. that collaboration.
Grant Kekana:
It’s Mamelodi Festive Tournament which I, Terrence and Dinho decided to collaborate in hosting to lift up the community of Mamelodi because nothing has really been happening in Mamelodi for quite a number of years. Indi vidually, I do have my foundation, the Grant Kekana Foundation, and weusually giveback to theneedy around Christmas time, but sometimes due to my football commitments it hasn’t always been possible. That’s why I havedecided to collaborate with Terrence and Dinho to start this kind of an initiative. It’s just us collaborating to uplift thecommunity of Mamelodi because there h a v en ’ t been any activities to speak about in recent years and it was important that we got together to do something for thecommunity of Mamelodi.
MQ: How has this great idea been received by the community?
GK:
I think it’s been received quite well and today (Monday, 18 December) was Day 1 of the tournament. So far, everything is going well and all is in order, and we are hoping that we can only grow from here. We are h o p in g foralotofsuppo rt and that therewill be huge turnouts during the tournament.
MQ: We wish that everything goes well with the tournament and applaud guys for giving back to the community. On an individual note, you seem to have made a lot of progress in your career since joining the Brazilians from archriva ls SuperSport United.
GK:
Ja, there’s been big improvement, and playing for a big club lik e Sundowns, thereare expectations and you haveto liveup to them. There are high demands, and you areexpected to show up in each and every ga me. It was a good test and it cameat the right time in my career.
MQ: The pressure is such that you are expected to win all the time at the Chloorkop-based outfit.
GK:
I think we’vegot a top coach (Rhulani Mokwena) and we’ve got good players who are all motivated and aretrying to improvethemselves each time they play. That pushes you as a player to improve as well. So, I think thesurroundings makeit viablefor all of us to try and achieve what weset out to achieve.
MQ: What are the demands of playing for a highly competitive team like Downs?
GK:
Everyonehas to pull up their socks all thetimeand everyonehas a target that they have to set. When it comes to playing as a collective, I thin k we have been able to thrive together. The competition is healthy, but it’s good at thesametime. You are forced to always beon your A-game and that’s one of the advantages of being here.
MQ: When it comes to opponents, what do they say about your achievements?
GK:
To be honest, I don’t have friends from other teams. I speak to oneor two guys hereand thereand thereforeit’s never really the case (discussing
Downs’ achievements). Sometimes I do meet with guys from other teams in thenational team or whatever, but we never engage in those kinds of discussions.
MQ: What would you say to critics who believe the club ‘buys’ success with all the quality players that they have managed to bring in over the years like yourself, Ronwen Williams, Aubrey Modiba and countless others?
GK:
I don’t pay too much attention to critics, but I think if you look at PSG, Man City and all those teams, they invest in their teams. Wearefortunatethat at Mamelodi Sundowns, our p r esid en t (Dr. Patrice Motsepe) invests in his team and thereforewecan only pay him back by bringing the results and winning competitions. Wework hard and I’m talking about everyone here. We don’t get things given to us on a silver platter.
MQ: What is it like having such a strong technical team where someone like Manqoba Mngqithi, who holds the title of senior coach in the team, is a head coach in his own right? GK:
It’s good and wearefortunate to behaving all of them. Weall work very hard and all of us know the mandate that’s expected of us. We are just fortunate to have quality all around, from thetechnical team to the players, and we are in a privileged position. is more than ready and capable to deliver. When you get your chance, you just need to keep it.