Another great talent going to waste
A PLAYER who has loads of potential looks to be heading in the same direction as some of the talented players who have wasted their careers because of their off-the-field antics.
Ayabulela Konqobe (formerly Magqwaka), according to a source, missed a flight to Durban after a night out on the town following a match with Mbombela United in the National First Division. His loan contract was terminated by AmaZulu and he is now back home in Cape Town, waiting to see where his next move will be. Still contracted to Ajax Cape Town until the end of the season, though they have an option to extend, Konqobe insists he is not a bad boy but he could be headed in the same direction as players such as Mbulelo Mabizela and Lerato Chabangu if he does not get his act together.
Mabizela and Chabangu are just two of many talented players who never reached their full potential because of wayward behaviour off the pitch.
Just two years ago, Konqobe was the national under-20 captain and was called up by Bafana Bafana for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sudan and Nigeria.
He also featured for the under-23s, but surely now there ’ s no chance of him playing for the team at the Olympics in Rio later this year.
“No, I am not (a bad boy). I doubt there is a soccer player who is a bad boy. I am still a young boy and I ’ m still going to go through stumbles... God has given me this talent and it ’ s up to me to cherish it,” Konqobe said this week.
“People will always have something to say, whether it ’ s good or bad. I just have to keep my head high and focus. I need to get a new team where I can play and just focus on my career. The PSL would always be the main option, but I have also thought of going overseas. ”
There ’ s very little chance Ajax will keep him after the episodes they have had with him. Before going out on loan to SuperSport United last season, Konqobe had a public spat with the Urban Warriors who were claiming that he was missing training sessions after he requested to have his contract with the club terminated due to a lack of first-team action.
Konqobe was eventually loaned out to SuperSport, where he was unable to feature regularly in the second half of last season.
“At the moment I do not know anything. I still have to hear from Ajax and then my agent will let me know on the way forward. My contract with Ajax expires at the end of June. But then there is a two-year extension which is optional.”
'I'm not a bad boy, I'm going through stumbles'