A miracle will happen!

This week’s column is filled with both good and bad news. I was invited to SportPesa’s fifth birthday celebrations in Nairobi, Kenya, last weekend and it was a really great occasion. I really appreciate and feel humbled to be associated with this massive brand. For them to have extended an invite to their celebrations meant a lot to me and I really needed a break. It was a fruitful trip because I met with a lot of people in the game and it was an honour to rub shoulders with all of them. We shared a lot of knowledge and experiences in the Beautiful Game. Among the South African SportPesa delegation was Cape Town City chairman John Comitis, Mike Makaab and his son, SportPesa representatives, Clint Roper from Soccer Laduma, a Tanzanian delegation, Liverpool delegation, Everton delegation, locals from Nairobi and a lot of other people. As I mentioned, it was a really fruitful trip and the most fascinating thing was the event on its own, which was about how SportPesa operates and how they’re received in other countries. They are very big in Kenya, Tanzania and England because of their UK partnership. I must say I was impressed with how well I was received by everyone, with a lot of people reminiscing about the 1996 Bafana Bafana squad. I know I’ve said this a couple of times already, but it is amazing how people can still remember every little detail of games we played so many years ago. Some even went as far as to say they were very scared of us, which came as a surprise. To hear people saying they used to pray that they don’t get drawn against South Africa in tournaments was just unbelievable. Believe it or not, I don’t know what is it that South Africa has done, but for our country to be so much in the faces of the rest of the continent is remarkable and overwhelming. I’m not only talking football because these people were talking about our politics, music and so on. There’s so much that made me proud to be a South African on this trip because of the positive feedback and appreciation people out there have for our country. They talk about our country as one of the best in the world, a country blessed with unbelievable talent and a place to be. The three days I spent in Kenya were eye-opening and I enjoyed every minute of it. The Tanzanians have even suggested that the 1996 team go and play an exhibition game in their country because they never really got an opportunity to watch them live at the stadium. They are really interested in making that happen because they believe that would make up for the missed opportunity to watch us play, although a number of those players have since left this earth. What worries me about all the love and appreciation we get from other African countries is the fact that they know a lot about us while we know little to nothing about them. To me, that’s very worrying because clearly there’s something we are not doing right. I haven’t been playing football for more than a decade, but people still recognise and appreciate me – that’s an overwhelming experience. They were talking about Orlando Pirates and how they beat Asec Mimosas in the final in 1995. They spoke about Mamelodi Sundowns and coach Pitso Mosimane doing so well to represent us in the continent and you can tell that these people are so fascinated by South Africa. In fact, throughout my stay there, it felt like I was home because I could access all our national radio stations and even television channels. Thanks, once again, to SportPesa for making this unbelievable trip happen. It was really good to spend time with the whole SportPesa team and I would like to wish them many more successful years to come. I hope our relationship will only grow stronger from now on, with even greater things to come in the future. On Meyiwa’s early retirement On a very sad note, before leaving for Kenya, I was woken up by the very sad news about Wiseman Meyiwa’s heartbreaking story of his career being cut short due to injuries sustained in a car accident towards the end of 2018. This is a young boy I watched growing up in the Kaizer Chiefs development and this is the last thing I ever expected. He was one of the boys with a great potential, with a lot expected from him. Such a humble and respectful young boy with a great attitude. He was so dedicated to his game and he was someone I always thought was going to make us proud as a country one day. He was already a junior international and that tells you a lot about his potential. When I heard about his situation, it really broke my heart and I’m still struggling to come to terms with it. This has never happened at Chiefs or anywhere else, as far as I can recall, and I just wish the boy and his family strength and knowledge that God hasn’t forsaken them. Sometimes we go through trials and tribulations in order to get to experience the love of God. It is also unfortunate for the boy to find himself in such a situation at such a young age. I really hope he will be strong and that time will heal him. I also hope that there will be that messiah, in a world full of miracles, that can touch this boy and heal him so that he can go back to where his heart longs to be, on the field of play. I strongly believe that a miracle will happen! As long as we continue to pray for the boy, nothing is impossible. It is really an emotional situation and not only for Chiefs but the entire country and football world. On the league race We once touched on the league title race, relegation and Top Eight battles in one of my previous columns. It is crunch time and there are teams that will struggle to accomplish their plans. We only have March for us to see what’s going to happen in all three spheres of competition in the league. If people struggle to pick up points now, trust me, come March it will be mission impossible. I will unpack the three categories in the league races at the end of March. I just thought I would remind people out there that time is running out. With 11 rounds of fixtures to go, there’s not much time left and teams better collect points now.