‘MY CAREER WILL GO ON BEYOND FOOTBALL’

One-time Pirates, Swallows and Jomo Cosmos midfielder has called time on a career spanning 17 years. He tells that he is planning to use his sports administration qualification to give back to society

What are your plans now that you have retired? My goal is to get into sports management at club level as a manager. Not only clubs, but Safa, corporates or sports departments, as long as I develop and empower the youth. I’m willing to start with internships. I have a sports admin certificate and I am going to enrol for a diploma. I have a maintenance and services company with a friend of mine. I also have an events and management company with another friend. Why did you decide to study while you were playing? It’s the foundation; how I was brought up. A lot of players want to study but say there’s no time. There’s lots of time. You go to camp, you sleep and we spend time not doing anything.

I studied sports administration at UJ (University of Johannesburg) while I was playing at Pirates. Why is it important for players to study?

You never know [because] two years down the line in your career you get an injury and you don’t have something to fall back on.

I believe we should take players, put them in programmes, take them to corporates [companies] to teach them about these things and how they work. I want to give back because it’s not enough for soccer players just to play soccer.

What was key to your longevity as a player?

You need to understand you are a sportsman. This is a profession and you have to treat it as such. You work with your body, so you cannot behave the same way as your friends who do not play football.

You need to know where to draw the line. So discipline is important. How you were brought up at home is also important. How do you want to be remembered?

I had a talent and I did my part in society. But that’s not enough. I want to give more and share the knowledge I have. Do you have any regrets?

No, but I learnt a lot of lessons. I believe it was a successful career and it will go on beyond football. I thank all the chairpersons who gave me a chance to play at their clubs.