Jason gives his views on football

Jason Oliver Panorama FC U17 and St Stithians forward is a friendly person who loves soccer and always wants to win. He looks up to Cristiano Ronaldo. His unrelenting commitment to excellence and addiction to success inspires him to push harder.

The young footballer wrote:

For me, football is like an escape from everything else. It’s a chance for me to express myself and have fun. I feel as if, in South Africa, our football has a lot of potential but there is not enough time and money invested in the sport. In comparison to countries overseas.

We are unable to compete with them because of this. To balance football with life and school; I plan my days out ensuring I have enough to time to attend to it all. On a couple of occasions, it has resulted in a late night or waking up early to attend to my schoolwork. For me, it’s extremely important. I am fortunate enough to have parents who believe in me and contribute towards my success and do their best to contribute towards my end goal.

One of my best highlights is a fixture against Paris Saint Germain in the Netherlands. It was a life-changing experience. To get a taste of the highest level overseas was an eye-opener to see the level I have to get to in order to compete with the rest of the world.

My hopes and dreams are to, ideally, get a scholarship to a university overseas. This way I can attend to my academics and football and give myself more options for my future career.

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