Amajimbos struggle to balance school and football schedules

TWO weeks after their extraordinary African Junior Championship campaign, the national under-17 players at Holy Trinity School are nowhere near catching up on the four weeks of school work they missed while on national duty in Niger.

Dressed in yellow shirts, navy blue jerseys, grey pants and well-polished shoes, Khanyisa Mayo, captain Nelson Maluleke, Mondli Mpoto, Simon Nqoi and Katlego Mohamme all admitted they are struggling to cope with soccer and school. So much so that there’s already a plea from their principal to write their final exams next year because of the busy schedule that lies ahead this year.

Maluleke and Mpoto are in matric, Mayo and Mohamme are in grade 11, while Nqoi is a grade 10 pupil. They have 13 classes a day before training with their club SuperSport United.

It’s World Cup year for Amajimbos and the players have to do as much work as possible before the competition starts in October in Chile, during exam time.

It’s not going to be easy, considering that there will also be friendly matches to prepare for the competition, so they’ll be on the absentee list quite a lot.

Therefore sleeping in class and bunking, which some admit to have done, are out of the question if they want to pass at the end of the year.

“It hasn’t been easy for us in the last two weeks. For one subject you have two assignments, so that means we have 14 assignments to do. But we are trying to catch up,” Mayo said.

“Everyday we go to school and then to training. Sometimes we get tired and fall asleep in class. We are able to pass with average marks, not high marks.”

Maluleke, Amajimbos’ driving force in the midfield, said his parents are worried he will fail grade 12 because of his increasingly hectic soccer schedule.

“My parents are always complaining because I have made football my life. It comes first. They were not happy when I was in Niger for long. They said I would fail because I am behind

You can’t expect them to get the same results as the other kids who attend school every day

on school work,” he said.

Maluleke’s father, Isaac, wants to see his son working hard and reaching his goals.

He said: “My dream [as a father] is to see him play for SuperSport, which is what he wants. It’s hard for him to cope with football and school. He tries his best.”

For their trip to Niger, the five players had to take along their textbooks to study and to complete assignments, a first for them. In future, the under-17 team could have tutors travelling with them.

Amajimbos head coach Molefi Ntseki said: “We had people who checked that the boys were studying. We need to behave like parents and be strict with studying.”

Mpiloenhle Nkomo, a geography and tourism teacher at Holy Trinity School, said: “It’s unfair for them to be in a normal school set-up. They should be in a special school where their hours will be taken into consideration.

“You can’t expect the boys to get the same results as the other kids who attend normally every day. They struggle to cope, but they try their best.”

School principal Andre Castelyn said his biggest concern was that the players focus too much on football.

“A lot of these guys only see football. What happens after their careers? Some will make millions, but not all of them,” said Castelyn. “I know they will be gone for a long period because of the World Cup. I’ll recommend that they write supplementary exams next year.

“We are going to write letters and leave it to the department of education to decide.”