Help Glenwood footballer achieve his goal in Spain
"I have played on the streets, tournaments, won some, lost some, high school football, varsity football and lower semi-pro division football in South Africa. But my heart still yearns for more, to inspire more, and to showcase myself more," said Mphayise.
MARTIN Luther King’s profound speech, entitled ‘I have a dream’ inspired Glenwood football player, Philani Mphayise, to discover his love for football and overcome poverty.
The talented footballer is now on a mission to raise R40 000, through a BackaBuddy campaign, by mid June, to cover his trip to Spain.
With help from his coaches and some international football scouts, Mphayise was awarded a chance to showcase his skills and talent in Madrid, Spain at the Madrid2021 camp hosted by an international academy.
Determined to inspire millions of people around the world, Mphayise, who will depart from South Africa in July, said, “My earliest memories of me playing football was in the dusty and musty streets of a small South African township in Durban called Lamontville.
“It was around 2005 when my friends and I would weave from shack-to-shack and get shouted at for running around playing soccer on the ‘roads for cars’. As a group of kids, this was no bother to us because we were too busy having fun playing soccer and imitating our favourite players and that was all that mattered. All in all, we had our fair share of good and bad memories of playing soccer.”
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He said a few years later, he caught a glimpse of a Manchester United match with Cristiano Ronaldo on TV.
“I had no business witnessing this because there was a group of uncles watching this match and growing up, we were taught to stay away from the adult business. But as I was passing by, I happened to catch a glimpse of the small TV box which was heavily crowded by these men.
“The room was tense, and I moved in a bit closer to witness the young Ronaldo standing with his signature stance, preparing to hit a free kick. I was intrigued and so I paid more attention to the screen,” he said.
He said at the time, the joy he felt was so contagious and something he could not comprehend.
“I then caught myself looking back at the screen to see Ronaldo screaming as well and being hugged by all the fans.
“At that very moment, I knew that this was it. I too wanted to play football on the highest stages to free people from concern, make them feel limitless, joyous, and inspired like how Ronaldo did. From that day, I have gone on to play a lot of football the way I could.
“I have played on the streets, tournaments, won some, lost some, high school football, varsity football and lower semi-pro division football in South Africa. But my heart still yearns for more, to inspire more, and to showcase myself more,” said Mphayise.
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He added after a lot of hard work, faith, and believing in the “impossible”, he now stands on the verge of making his childhood dream come true.
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