Over the weekend, I travelled to Pretoria on Saturday and Sunday for the love of the development of football. To make it interesting, I was invited to attend the Gauteng Women In Sports Awards but little did I knew I was going to receive an award, the Sports Journalist of The Year Award.
It came as a surprise for me when Precious Dhlamini who received this beautiful award on my behalf sent me a picture when I was in Pretoria on Saturday. Seeing that I was not there she walked on the stage to receive the award on my behalf. This is because she was part of the sports women who received an award on the very same day at NWU Vaal. The moral of the story here is not about the award, but the passion for this beautiful game. I travelled to Pretoria for two days, Saturday and Sunday and came back home very late in the evening. There is a saying that says: ” Love what you do and do what you love and you will be rewarded.”
I grew up in the football community and when I chose this career/profession, journalism I wanted to continue to serve football as a sports journalist. I was and still am passionate about this beautiful game because it saved me from a lot of trouble as a young person growing up in Evaton Central. The area was well known as a ‘no-go area’ because of crime then but thanks to football. To cut the story short, even if I knew I was going to receive this award, I was still going to ask somebody to receive it on my behalf.
Not because I didn’t appreciate this precious award but because of my passion for the development of football. I’m going to skip my funeral to attend the development football games and come to my funeral after the game(s). This is how much I love this beautiful game because this is the sport that gave me everything including the job. I always tell everyone who cares to listen that I could have ended up somewhere in Evaton cemetery if it wasn’t football. This sport will remain part of my life until I depart on this earth but still, I’m going to be one of Heaven’s Finest gifts .Yours truly TOUCHLINE used to travel the country to attend women’s football national play-offs while current Banyana Coach was a player, and this is where I developed a love for women’s football. My passion for journalism started in the form of football. Thanks to then Vaal Vision/Vaal Weekly Editor Peter Mabuye who gave me the opportunity to showcase my writing ability. I was still at school studying journalism, meanwhile work as a freelancer and as they say the rest is history.
TOUCHLINE wants to take this opportunity to thank Gauteng Women In Sports for this recognition for my passion for women football in this country.
