POLOKWANE – “Everywhere I went, whether it was to my parents’ shop or at home, I had a ball with me. It could be any ball but preferably a soccer ball,” he said.
He added that even when he was still in nappies, his family would play with him, especially his brothers, recalling the times they used white plastic cups as cones and he would dribble in and out as agility exercises.
It was in that time that he discovered that he’s dominant with his left foot.
Leo began working towards his career in football at the age of nine, when he joined Peace United Football Club which was at the time run by coaches Paen Nkhwashu and Dennis Moriffi.
“They nurtured me and developed me into a young footballer. They guided and helped me and I am grateful to have them form part of my life and my soccer dream,” he said.
He was scouted by Mamelodi Sundowns and went to Pretoria for the final trial/selection and he made it into their youth development academy structure. An injury kept him on the sideline for a year and a half, which Leo says was a heart-breaking time.
He was released by Sundowns in 2018 and he was without a team for some time.
He received the opportunity to pursue overseas football but when that did not work out, he started training with his brother’s academy, Rising Stars Academy and roped in the services of personal trainer, Justin Pierce to help him remain fit. In the same year, 2019, he joined Polokwane City. He plays for City’s reserves and is hoping to make his way to the first team.
“I am a versatile player, I can play number 10, left or right wing. At Polokwane City I’m playing as a winger and sometimes as a number 10,” he said.
One of the highlights of his career was going to Norway in 2010 to play in the Norway Cup.
“Some of my teammates were Gift Links, Grant Margerman, Charles Baloyi and Sirgio Kammies who are great friends and players all doing well with their respective teams. I’m happy for them. I like to see success among friends and family, it brings me joy,” he said.
