We pay tribute to a Star gone too soon

The 30-year-old had become a key player in the Ea Lla Koto team over the past few seasons, and was set to be rewarded with a move to Bidvest Wits next season.

Instead, Jantjie’s name is added to a desperately sad list of South African players who have been killed on the roads of this country.

From Lesley Manyathela to Gift Leremi, to Richard Henyekane to Cecil Lolo to Mondli Cele, the loss of talent is utterly heartbreaking.

Jantie had already scored three times for Stars in 2019, including a double in their Free State derby win at Bloemfontein Celtic on February 24, a massive boost in Ea Lla Koto’s bid to avoid relegation. One of Jantjie’s most memorable performances for Stars came in December 2017, when he scored the winner in the 84th minute as Stars stunned Orlando Pirates 2-1 at Goble Park in Bethlehem.

Phakaaathi takes this opportunity to send our condolences to the friends and family of Jantjie. May he rest in peace.

There was a moment of silence for him ahead of last night’s Absa Premiership showdown between Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns, and there will be ahead of all Absa Premiership, National First Division and MultiChoice Diski Challenge matches this week and this weekend.

Speaking of Pirates against Sundowns, readers opening Phakaaathi hoping to read about this are warned that our deadline prevents us from carrying a match report in the pages of this supplement. To read that, however, simply turn to the back page of our regular sports section, as long as you have a second edition.

In Phakaaathi this week, we focus a little on Kaizer Chiefs, who did brilliantly to beat Cape Town City and reach the Nedbank Cup semifinals on the weekend. Amakhosi must now be heavy favourites to lift the trophy, with Chippa United, their semifinal opponents, TS Galaxy and Golden Arrows the teams left in the competition. Chiefs will surely never have a better chance to finally break that trophy drought, and the prospect of them going up against former coach Steve Komphela, now at Arrows, in the final, is certainly one to whet the appetite.

Chippa are also a team to watch under Clinton Larsen, however, and Ernst Middendorp, who has done an excellent job at Chiefs in his second spell in charge, would do well to keep his players focused on the task at hand.

In this week’s Phakaaathi, we also hear from City’s Benni McCarthy, who admitted his side deserved to lose on Sunday, and from Komphela, who must be relishing the possibility of playing Chiefs in the final.

In our regular one-on-one feature, meanwhile, we hear from Kaizer Chiefs’ goalkeeping man-of-the-moment, Bruce Bvuma, who kept another clean sheet on Sunday, while Banyana’s Jermaine Seoposenwe speaks of her desire to play in the Fifa Women’s World Cup finals.

On Page 7, meanwhile, readers have a chance to win R350 in airtime by voting in Phakaaathi’s Player of the Month competition, in which Bvuma is one of four nominees. So get voting, and also don’t forget to enter our Phakaaathi Private Fantasy League, for a chance to win terrific monthly prizes. If you haven’t already, you can enter the league by following the rules in the competition advert on Page 9.

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