Waterberg’s jack of all trades
Bela-Bela’s Jack Maluleka has been elected into the executive committee of the all-powerful South African Football Association (Safa).
He told The BEAT in a recent interview that for him it has been a long journey in his endeavours as a soccer player and administrator.
Maluleka was at one time the youngest player for the most popular Warmbaths Atlanta Kids, at the age of 15.
Warmbaths Atlanta Kids campaigned in the third-tier Ellerines Football League of yesteryear, now known as ABC Motsepe League.
In the year 1994 Maluleka was recruited to play for Tlhabane Swallows FC outside Rustenburg, a team campaigning in the erstwhile Bophuthatswana Professional Soccer League (Bopsol).
Thereafter he moved to the Tshwane University of Technology, whereby he was elevated to chairperson of the sports committee for the Students’ Representative Council (SRC).
Maluleka was better known in Bela-Bela as a complete athlete, remembered for his blistering pace on the athletics track.
He was part of the South African team during the Olympics in Japan in the year 1996.
Maluleka has also played for the Soweto giants, Kaizer Chiefs reserve side from 1996 to 1997.
“I then returned to my hometown of Bela-Bela, after completing my teaching diploma,” he added.
He was chairperson of the Bela-Bela Sports Council in the year 2007, and was later elected as member of the Bela-Bela Local Football Association (LFA).
Maluleka was the founding chairman of the local Sunrise FC, which campaigned in the then Castle League, which has since been renamed Waterberg SAB Regional League.
He said in the year 2012 he joined the Waterberg Safa regional office, as chairperson of the competitions committee.
Maluleka was elected into the Safa regional excutive committee in 2013.
Going forward he would be doubling up his work at Safa, also as president of the Safa Waterberg region.
“My dream has always been to help develop soccer in my community,” he added.
– The Beat
