Secrets of the Stars
With Veli Mothwa (AmaZulu)
AmaZulu goalkeeper Veli Mothwa reveals some interesting facts about his life.
1 Veli Mothwa was born and raised in Pretoria, Gauteng. He is one of 10 siblings – six on his mother’s side and four on his father’s. “I’ve heard people say I’m from Limpopo, but I was born and raised in Mamelodi and only moved to Limpopo in December 2010. I grew up not knowing my parents because my father passed away when I was young, and my mother left me and came back when I was 16 or 17. She has also now passed on. My grandmother and aunts raised me in Mamelodi.”
2 He attended junior school at Boikgantsho Primary School and graduated to Gatang Secondary School in Mamelodi East. “That’s where football actually started for me, I played Chappies Little League in Primary School and Love Life League in High School.”
3 His career started out at the AmaTuks youth academy, where he spent three years in the junior teams before his first team promotion was delayed and he decided to leave. “I started playing for Tuks in 2007 and in 2010, I passed my trial for the first team and I was supposed to sign a contract, but they said they aren’t rushing to sign me because I was a development player. They said I was not ready for promotion.”
4 Veli needed to provide for his first-born child, who arrived in 2010 when he was 19. He decided to leave Pretoria and ended up in Limpopo. “When I moved to Limpopo, I was playing street tournaments because I needed to make a living and get money, so that I could support my child. My girlfriend was pregnant at the time, and that’s why I decided to move to Limpopo. I was earning R1,500 for every win.”
5 His journey to professional football was not straight-forward – he campaigned in the amateur ranks before he eventually earned his big break at Baroka FC. “In 2011, I joined Fanang Diatla FC in the Vodacom League and I was there for only two months before I joined Mighty FC. In June, I went back to that team I played street tournaments with and they had a friendly against Baroka – that’s how Khurushi Mphahlele spotted me.”
6 When he signed for Bakgaga in 2011, his first salary was only R5,000 per month. “I survived perfectly fine with that and I was able to provide for my daughter too. I now have three kids – my eldest will be turning 11 years old; my second-born is turning eight; my last-born is turning five.”
7 Mothwa was caught in the middle of a dispute between Baroka and Polokwane City in 2014, when his initial move to Chippa United was stalled. “I went to Chippa in 2014 after they signed me from Baroka, then when I had to be registered there was a saga between Baroka and Polokwane City, who said I signed a contract with them. I then went back to Baroka to help them get promotion to the PSL, before I returned to Chippa in 2016.”
8 After stagnating for more than three years at Chippa, he considered hanging up his gloves several times but stuck to his belief and ambitions, and today he is part of the Bafana Bafana setup. “2016, I never played; 2017, I never played; 2018, I never played. I started playing in November 2019. During that period, I actually thought of quitting soccer.”
9 Veli had ambitions of becoming a car salesperson before his football talents were discovered, which led him into his current career. “I wanted to be a salesman, because at school I was selling sweets and I realised I’m good at selling stuff. I would have loved to sell sports cars.”
10 The first car he bought for himself was a Volkswagen Polo TSI DSG for R425,000 in 2018. “I’m still even driving it today. It’s not like I bought it cash, and it was brand new in 2018 so there’s been no need to change.”