Faiz Abrahams: Worried father of Chiefs star speaks up – ‘He doesn’t talk to us anymore’

Muneer Abrahams, the father of Kaizer Chiefs forward Faiz Abrahams, has opened up following reports that his son has failed to turn up for training and does not want to play football.

Reports came to the fore on Saturday that Abrahams has not joined his Chiefs teammates in training as they prepare for the Carling Knockout semi-final against Mamelodi Sundowns and his whereabouts were not known.

It also later emerged that the winger has stated he is not interested in football anymore. It comes just over two months since Abrahams made the switch to Chiefs on a season long loan from Stellenbosch FC.

The winger similarly had a troubled spell at Israeli Second Division side Hapoel Kfar Saba where his loan stint was cut short last season and his father admits to be very worried about his son but with no idea what is bothering him.

Faiz Abrahams’ father opens up

“It’s much deeper than that and definitely something with his wellbeing,” Muneer told KickOff.

“He doesn’t talk to us or anyone for that matter. Even his close friends are left in the dark and don’t know what is going on with him. If he’s not visiting a friend who lives nearby, he’s locked up in his room the whole day.

“During his time in Israel, we noticed similar behaviour. He just went into his shell. He stopped calling us the way he normally would, but we can’t say exactly what caused it.

“As parents, it’s extremely worrying. We are clueless and don’t know what to do. At the same time, we don’t want to put too much pressure on him because we don’t know how it could affect him. But naturally we’re concerned.”

Cautioned advised over Chiefs star

The elder Abrahams insists the Cape Town-born forward had a good upbringing, which makes his latest issues more worrying, while he has cautioned against public rebuke of the 21-year-old as he feels it could worsen the situation.

“People will probably have their opinions, but the reality is that Faiz comes from a good home. My wife and I raised him with good morals and values,” he added.

“Yes, we live in a tough area in Cape Town, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t brought up with respect, discipline and good standards. We also asked ‘Boere’ (Baartman) but even he doesn’t know.”

Chiefs have not commented on the situation but it is a concerning issue that will need to be handled carefully as the youngster navigates a challenging phase of his life.