MOSES Mabida-born Xolisa Mafana, who started his football career at Black Brothers FC, at the age of eight, believes that education and sport go together.
Mafana said his career took off when he was selected to play for the then Uitenhage Football Association U/14 side during the SAFA Eastern Province Football Association Inter-district soccer tournament when he was 12 years old.
He said that he grew up supporting his uncle, Thomas Mafana, who also played for Black Brothers in Moses Mabida Location in Kirkwood.
“My uncle kept on encouraging me to play football when I was very young. He was a star player and I enjoyed watching my uncle.
“I associated myself with the people who had a passion of sport since I started taking part in sport.
“I played for Black Brothers FC juniors in Moses Mabida and Lion City FC juniors in KwaNobuhle. Then, I moved to Motherwell where I joined Milan Stars FC.
“Thereafter, I left Port Elizabeth for Mpumalanga, where I found employment. I joined a Vodacom side, Sivutsa Stars, that got promoted to play in the National First Division,” said Mafana.
Mafana returned home and he rejoined his former club, Milan Stars FC, becoming its senior team captain. As he strongly believes that a sportsman without education has no future, he registered with PE College. He was selected as a college team captain for three years.
He said, “All the teams that I captained believed in me because I display effective leadership qualities.
“They trusted me because they noticed something in me. I have a SAFA Coaching Level C Licence now and my leadership qualities gave me an advantage to be trusted as a coach.”
Mafana coached Milan Stars FC juniors since 2001 and he took honours many times as a coach.
One of his highlights as a coach was winning the provincial tournament as a captain of PE College twice in a row.
He revealed that it was very difficult to coach the amateur sides, as they had no equipment and some of the parents did not support their children’s dreams.
He said, “The parents must make sure that their children study their books and play sport at the same time.
“It is good for the players that they should follow their dreams by taking education seriously.
“Then, they will be able to sustain themselves without depending on other people for their livelihood,” Mafana concluded.
