Here comes the football artist
JOBURG - Stand aside Teko Modise, ‘The General’ for here comes the football artist, Siyavuya Jezile.
Stand aside Teko Modise aka The General, for here comes the football artist, Siyavuya Jezile.
Unlike Modise, Jezile will not be marshalling his troops on the football battlefield but will art and sketch his way around defenders before unleashing that powerful shot at goal.
These are the attributes of Jezile, a 16-year-old Centurion-born South African global ambassador of the COPA Coca-Cola football schools tournament, whose nimble feet has given rise to his nickname, The Artist.
The tournament is underway in a series of regional knockouts which will culminate in provincial knockouts that will see the winner of each province compete in the national finals scheduled for 23 to 26 September.
The winning school will be named the 2015 COPA Coca-Cola Champions and will bag R60 000 that will be used to develop their school’s educational and sporting facilities. Second and third placed runners-up will receive R30 000 and R25 000 respectively for their schools.
Speaking at the tournament launch, Jezile who is being touted as the next Modise said it was a great honour to be compared to him, though he would like to build his own legacy in the game.
The U17 AmaTuks player was urged by former Bafana Bafana icon, Benni McCarthy to “stay cool and humble” if he wanted to see his football career blossom.
“You must not make the same mistakes that some of us made, as we did not go through such a programme that moulds and builds you as a player and a responsible citizen,” said McCarthy during the launch. “No drugs, alcohol, bad behaviour and above all, be savvy with your money.
“You have impressed me very much and I would like to leave you with this message. Stay cool and humble if you want to succeed in life. I am a boy from the Cape flats and I have made my own mistakes, but you are my biggest fan from today and don’t disappoint.”
