Shabba out to be Forever Fearless
WHETHER it’s on the track, on the pitch or in the ring, it takes drive and determination to become a champion.
Endless hours of training and sacrifice are normal for athletes across Africa. But for a select few, the pay-off for being the best in their sport comes with a lot of pressure.
This week, CNN’s African Voices discovers how three elite African sports stars – a female boxer in Zambia, a young sprinter who’s won gold at the 2014 Youth Olympics and a top footballer in South Africa – stay on top of their game.
Football is the number one sport in South Africa and has a huge following.
Anticipation for the big games causes debates, divides families and creates excitement. South Africa loves football!
Siphiwe Tshabalala, aka Shabba, is one of the country’s top players. He reveals how he started out on African Voices: “We started playing on the streets first, before we went to a normal soccer field and it was fun… my team was Kaizer Chiefs, and my favourite player was Doctor Khumalo.”
From humble beginnings to “Forever Fearless”, Tshabalala is living up to the slogan of his Premier League football club, the Chiefs.
He plays midfield for the South African team but he’s usually out front looking for an opportunity to score.
Tshabalala takes CNN’s African Voices to where it all began, a field in his hometown Soweto.
“This is the field where I started playing football. There was no grass here.”
He always envisioned playing for his favourite childhood team, but not for the national team, Bafana Bafana, where he became an international sensation. Scoring the opening goal at the 2010 South African World Cup was a great achievement for Tshabalala.
“The World Cup was special, I think, for all Africans, the first World Cup in Africa… out of all the players, all the big players, I was the only to score that goal.”
He has become an icon in the football arena for scoring the opening goal at the South African World Cup, and now, five years on, he’s still celebrating – but not with an inflated head.
Tshabalala says: “Celebrity is just a status. For me it doesn’t make me a better person…
“The passion, the competitiveness of the game, the flair, and the fans, that’s what I love about football.”
The football star is aiming for other goals too. He says: “I look up to people who want to grow in life, who want to make a difference and who want to help other people.
“The impact that I want to make in Africa is leaving a strong legacy and to continue being a role model, not only in South Africa but in Africa as a continent,” he says.
Tshabalala runs a foundation that provides South African youths with opportunities on and off the field.
”Playing football with the kids, it’s something special, especially to them…
“I was once their age and I know how it feels to play with your role model.”
Tshabalala shares his best piece of advice with African Voices: “Work hard and do not depend on your talent.
“Talent is not enough but hard work puts you there.”
African Voices Tshabalala last night.
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