Tom wants others to profit from his experience

The lack of attention given to physical development in football, from grassroots onward, led former Golden Arrows leftback Mzuvukile Tom to enroll for a fitness training certificate.

Tom also studied an administration course through a wellness academy based in Pretoria.

Originally from Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape, Tom believes a retired player has a better chance of prospering in Gauteng than they do in any other province in the country.

Tom has compared being away from his home town and living in Johannesburg to being in exile.

“There is nothing happening in the Eastern Cape for former footballers. There is no aid from the municipality to help with projects that are football-related for ex-professionals, again a lot of teams are based in Gauteng and there is nothing happening in other provinces.

You need to leave and go into exile for you to achieve something. Then you can go back to your province once you have established yourself,” said Tom.

The 37-year-old has plans to start an academy in the Eastern Cape to focus on different sporting codes for children to have something constructive to do, as the area is rife with drugs.

Armed with education and the will to give back to the community, Tom is slowly preparing for his move back home to impart his knowledge and experience.

“The main reason for me to give back is seeing a child just like me not knowing where to go to be a successful athlete or sports personality. When I retired I had some people asking me to help their kids and I said I couldn’t help them become professional footballers. They accused me of being jealous and only wanting success for myself but what they don’t understand is I didn’t have the resources or platform to help these kids.

“It is difficult because there is a big pool for clubs to pick talent from and a youngster who is not playing in the MDC or who is not at some kind of development club or academy can’t just walk into a team, even if an ex-player of that team recommends them – but parents don’t get it so I am starting a foundation where I can have a platform to help.”

Tom would have liked to focus on his foundation and academy a lot sooner after he played his last game but he had to make sure his family had a stable income. The former Mpumalanga Black Aces player turned to property to generate passive income after coach Mandla Ncikazi introduced him to property investment.

“When you play football you have to make money. I wanted to start a foundation but I had to sustain the life I had built for my family while playing football.

“Once I knew there was income from the three properties I have I could then go back to the original plan I had after retirement of doing something for the community, I couldn’t start with the community while my family was having financial problems.

“My plan runs smoothly now because I know my family has been taken care of.”