Foster to the fore He is in the Bafana team with his uncle
Lyle in the same Bafana Bafana side with his uncle
Pop quiz — how many times have an uncle and a nephew, just three years apart in age, played in the same Bafana Bafana line-up?
The answer, surely, is never, but it could happen in the Cosafa Cup in Polokwane this week, for which 17-year-old Orlando Pirates striking prospect Lyle Foster has had his first call-up, and his uncle, 20-year-old Luther Singh, his second.
Three of the front men in this Cosafa Cup tie, in which a youthful Bafana play their first match in the quarterfinal against Madagascar at Peter Mokaba Stadium today — Foster, Singh and Kaizer Chiefs’ Ryan Moon — surely represent the future of South African striking.
“They’re all doing really well,” Foster said. “Something most people don’t know is that I grew up with Luther. My gran and Luther’s mother are related. So Luther’s my uncle, actually. We went to Florida Primary School. I used to be in the after-school football in Grade 2, and Luther, then in Grade 5, used to come fetch me with a bicycle to his house in Florida until my mom would pick me up.
“We played in the same football tournaments, were at the same family Christmas lunches.
“He lives five minutes away from me in Florida. Now he’s away a lot we keep in contact and he gives me advice.
“Him playing in Portugal and getting promoted is something I can learn from, and something I want to do as well.”
Both families moved from Noordgesig in Soweto to the more affluent Florida, near Roodepoort.
“We would hang out in Florida, but not as much as in Noordgesig where we would play street football and on the grounds with some of the older teams.
“It played a role in my development. My parents used Luther as an example of how I should keep focused. Then Luther’s mentor, Farouk Khan, picked him up to join the Stars of Africa academy at 12.”
Foster’s football stock runs deeper. Dad Lance Foster played with Junaid Hartley in Bidvest Wits’ development side.
When Foster was 12 his mother’s friend emailed that there were trials for Pirates’ development squad. He went because some friends were going.
“I was the only one to make it. That year Pirates’ development closed down [because of overage-cheating issues in 2012].
“But my father, my mentor, the man I respect so much, [Bucs’ development head] Augusto Palacios, called me back and opened his personal development.
“He has taught me literally everything I know. I was just a boy who knew how to play street football, and Palacios furnished me to become what I was when I rejoined the new Pirates development.”
Foster played nine games for Pirates in 2017-18, scoring once. Last year he made a list of the UK Guardian’s 60 most promising footballers in the world. Of course, the potential shown at 17 is not always realised. What sets Foster apart?
“The main thing is consistency with your performance and adapting to different levels, like playing in Europe. Being a player who is coachable. I saw that list. I’ve played against some of those really good young players in an u-17 Brics tournament and three-way u20 friendly series against Brazil and England — Vinicius Junior, who has just signed a contract with Real Madrid after playing for Flamengo, and [England’s] Jadon Sancho, who plays for Borussia Dortmund. Vinicius killed us in a 4-0 win for Brazil. We did really well to win 2-1 against England.
“It was nice to see the list, but I still have work to do trying to get into Pirates’ starting XI and the list doesn’t affect anything.”