Midrand Spoilers FC skipper speaks his football journey

Midrand Spoilers FC captain Lukhanyo ‘Ntsimbi’ Mapeyi (22) believes that soccer has helped him maintain focus in every aspect of his life.

Growing up in Eastern Cape, the Ivory Park-based centre-back used to be his uncle’s kit-bag boy, and as he attended more soccer games his love for the beautiful game also developed.

While he was coming of age, Ntsimbi played for Peace Lover FC until 2015 before moving to Midrand team Real Madrid. “I was caretaker at that time because I was young and could not make the first 11 for Real Madrid in the Midrand Local Football Association (MLFA) league,” Ntsimbi recalled.

“Despite attending training every day, I turned into the ball boy when match day came. I did not give up as I knew that my time to shine will come as well.”

The following season, Real Madrid was left without a coach and began playing friendly matches as they had not registered for the (MLFA) league. The next year, Ntsimbi’s former Real Madrid coach Sthembiso Buthelezi joined Spoilers as the head coach, and Ntsimbi tagged along believing Buthelezi could help him further in his soccer career.

As an admirer of Orlando Pirates captain Happy Jele, Ntsimbi hopes to emulate the centre-back by playing at a professional level.
Having led Spoilers on the pitch for six years, Ntsimbi has proven to be an excellent leader. “The qualities that make a good team captain are your friendship with your teammates and treating everyone fairly,” he explained.

Ntsimbi believed that if he hadn’t started playing football he would probably have fallen into a life of doing drugs.

“Diligence, hard work, and dedication are things that pay off in football, but education is equally important since we cannot only rely on football because it is a short-term job.”

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