Learn from Mothwa!

Bafana Bafana’s remarkable Afcon campaign in Cote d’Ivoire was obviously a team effort, with several players making a name for themselves through their individual brilliance. But one feels not much is being said or celebrated about Veli Mothwa’s contribution and passion that impacted our national team and steered them in the right direction.

The AmaZulu FC goalkeeper was secondin-command to the Goalkeeper of the Tournament, Ronwen Williams, at the biennial continental tournament. You don’t have to have been part of our national team’s behind-the-scenes happenings to see the influence, the impact and the drive that the 33-year-old has had in the team. You also don’t have to be a genius to see what a great teammate he is. What a true professional, what a team player, what a selfless leader and what a patriotic footballer Veli Mothwa is. For someone who didn’t have any minute of the tournament under his belt, watching from the bench as Ronza stole the limelight, making such a big statement in the biggest tournament in the continent, Mothwa remained positive, remained supportive and remained one of the most important players in the team. This goes to show that you don’t necessarily have to be on the field to have an impact in the team.

A lot of people can learn from the good example that Mothwa demonstrated throughout the tournament. Unfailingly, he was there to support Ronza and his teammates who enjoyed regular gametime. He was always there for his number one through it all. Whenever Ronwen made a save, Mothwa was one of the first people to react in admiration and jubilation. You’d be forgiven for thinking he was the one who had pulled that blinder of a save off. Whenever the team needed support, whenever they needed courage, whenever they celebrated, Veli was always in the mix, raising his hand and making his presence felt. Such a positive attitude rubbed off on a number of our players because, as the tournament progressed, you started seeing more of them getting involved and that can only bode well for our team, but not much is being said about this selfless gentleman. Almost every action Mothwa made, from the bench, was an exhibition of selflessness, good camaraderie and putting the national team first before his personal goals. No one would be content with being a benchwarmer in such a big tournament because that’s where a number of players make a name for themselves and even earn themselves career moves to greener pastures. Mothwa is no exception and he surely would have loved to taste action, prove his worth and possibly earn a move abroad. After all, Afcon sees the whole continent stand still and watch the tournament, even joined by parts of the world. However, Mothwa understood his role and cheered for Ronza, supporting the whole team, forgetting about his personal ambition and the fact that he was not getting any look into. Some people in his position would sulk and wonder when will their time come? They would just sit there hoping something happens to the number one so that they could be elevated to their position and stop being number two, then take full advantage of the situation, which is only human at times, although unfortunate.

It was refreshing to see that none of that was the case with Mothwa because, even when we played in the third and fourth-place play-off against DR Congo, many would have expected him to start because that was more like an ‘insignificant’ game if you will. But Ronwen continued to be the man between the sticks and that didn’t stop Veli or make him drop his head. He continued to support the team. It is easy for people to say Mothwa did what was expected of him. It is easy to reduce his actions to just being normal, but for anyone who has played the game, for anyone who understands the competitive nature of sport, for anyone who understands the joy of being on the field, for anyone who understands the importance of game-time,

Mothwa deserves a pat on the back. For anyone who is as ambitious as Mothwa is, it takes a lot to put the team first and sacrifice your own happiness for the team’s than you would think. This is not just about football but even in life in general. Very, very few people can demonstrate the selflessness that Mothwa exhibited throughout this tournament. To me, that should be celebrated more. That is a lesson that we can all learn from Veli because it happens even in family circles that people always look out for themselves before they even think of the next person. They think about themselves first before they look out for the team – the whole family. It is all about themselves first, then everyone and everything else follows. That is the unfortunate mentality that has been inculcated to people’s minds for generations!

Mothwa decided to show us a completely different side, which should be a lesson and an eye-opener because there are teammates who will be sitting on the bench hoping that there is an injury so that they can get a chance to play. They will be sitting there, hoping that the coach decides to bring on new players to impact the game, so that they can get a run. A team’s victory without their input doesn’t feel as good as it does when they have had a role to play in it. They are itching for game-time because they understand this is an opportunity for them to earn a starting berth in the next game. It’s a lifetime opportunity that they need to grab with both hands. When that does not happen, they start sulking, they start badmouthing the head coach, they start looking at their teammates in a different way.

They just bring negative energy into the team because their wishes have not been met, but once again, that’s not been the case with Mothwa at all. He remained a professional, a support structure and a good sounding board to Ronwen because, as mentioned earlier, whenever good things were happening, Veli Mothwa was there to support and celebrate Ronza. Even outfield players will bear testament to this because he was there for them as well. He was there shouting instructions and he was there encouraging the players when the chips were down. These are the kind of things that we need to see not just in the football field but also in our daily lives. One is suddenly reminded of a teammate in the Media League, back in the day, whom he was sitting on the bench with, and we were trailing our opponents by three goals to nil. When one of the teammates scored, we jumped up with joy because we could sense an opportunity to bounce back. The second goal came and our celebrations grew even wilder. However, one of our teammates wasn’t part of the celebrations and this was a bit confusing as he remained seated on the bench, twiddling his thumbs. When we rejoined him from the celebrations, we found him sulking and bemoaning the goals! Unbelievable, right? The man was cursing because the coach would now delay making substitutions when we, as the substitutes, should be the ones impacting the game and not the starters. Can you believe the level of selfishness one has to be drowned in to think like that? Clearly the teammate saw himself as better than the team dynamic and this goes to illustrate the typical thinking capacity of some people who prioritise personal glory over the team’s success. This is just one example that seeks to open people’s eyes to the good example displayed by Mothwa. He understood and accepted that Ronwen was having a great tournament and that there was no need for the coach to fix that which was not broken. This is the kind of selflessness we need to see more of. It may look unimportant to some but it didn’t go unnoticed by everyone. We hope some people learned a thing or two from Veli and that we celebrate him!