Educational and informative

“Even before I turned pro, I learned the football side of things, like transfers and what kind of people the guys I saw on TV were, through reading Soccer Laduma. It was also a source of inspiration for me to say, ‘Hawu, there are also other football players who come

from a similar background to mine. It means that I can also do it.’ When I turned pro, I’d follow Siyagobhoza, where you got to read about all the latest rumours. Sometimes you’d find that someone wasn’t playing and had gone AWOL, and then you’d learn that such behaviour wasn’t acceptable in football because those who behaved otherwise reached further in their careers. That helped mould me and my mentality. You’d also see someone playing for Black Leopards, only to find that he’s from here in Soweto. It then dawned on me that no one had said to me you’re going to play for Kaizer Chiefs or Orlando Pirates just because you’re from Jozi. People made sacrifices to go and play elsewhere. So, all these things, I had to read about them because who was going to tell me about them? Soccer Laduma was educational in terms of me getting to know that side of football. Even when you went out, you’d hear people talking about football and saying, ‘Hey, Chiefs want so-and-so’, or, ‘So-and-so has been put on transfer.’ It’s because they read it! So, Soccer Laduma is educational and informative to ardent football lovers because not everyone has a (satellite) dish.”