Riaz honoured for his legendary achievements

Riaz Adam Abdulla’s love for ‘the beautiful game’ of football has finally reaped rewards after years of dedication to the sport.
Mr Abdulla was awarded with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Sports Veterans’ Association at a glamorous function in Pietermaritzburg.
The award was in recognition of his dedicated contribution to the promotion of sport within the and beyond the Pietermaritzburg community.
Mr Abdullas’s career started with Brothers Football Club in Dundee, where he spent every Sunday afternoon kicking around a football. Originally meant to play at centre forward, a lack of players saw Mr Abdulla filling the goalkeeper role, and the rest, as they say, is history.
His talent between the posts saw him go to Transvaal, where he played for Bosman Chelsea, helping them to win the New Homes Cup and the Lenasia Cup. They also finished as runners-up in the league.
At 16 years old he returned to Dundee, where he played for Jakes Autolot. He then moved back to the Transvaal, where he played for Blue Bells, before returning to Dundee again, where he played for Dynamos.
A professional career spanning well over ten years, Mr Abdulla played until the age of 39. Although now in his fifties, he has represented Umzinyathi at the KwaZulu-Natal trials and has been invited to participate in play in an over-50 tournament, to be held over the Easter weekend. He also stayed extremely loyal to the Federation during his career.
Though extremely proud of his achievements to date, Mr Abdulla was disappointed with the lack of opportunities available to players of colour during the Apartheid era.
Mr Abdulla urges the youngsters of today to make the most of the chances they are given. “Opportunities like these mustn’t be missed,” he said. He urges parents to be supportive of their children’s sporting careers.
A true love for the game kept Mr Abdulla playing in an age when players were paid R50 a game, so money wasn’t a selling point in playing sports. Playing sports though runs in the Abdulla family. Mr Abdulla also played badminton and now coaches cricket. His nephew is Dolphins player Yusuf Abdulla.
Through all his years of sporting greatness, he still remembers the butterflies experienced while playing and winning a cup final as a 16-year-old.
Mr Abdulla thanks Vernen and Logan, who made it possible for him to be awarded with this prestigious accolade.
With a past full of sporting achievements, Mr Abdulla is looking forward to a future filled with new ones, and helping to groom a new generation of sporting greats.