Relebohile Mofokeng’s father Sechaba Mofokeng has revealed how seeing his son play made him emotional, rekindling memories of his own playing days.
Rele has become a star thanks to his meteoric rise at Orlando Pirates in the last two years, having been integrated into the senior team by coach Jose Riveiro.
The Sharpeville-born winger started his journey at SAFA-Transnet School of Excellence where he was scouted by Pirates and it was not long before the Buccaneers snapped him up, joining their youth setup ahead of the 2022-23 season.
By this time, his father had already watched him play in a local township tournament and his immense talent left him in tears.
Rele has benefited from social media
“The difference between now and then is that when we were playing, there weren’t things like YouTube and Facebook,” Mofokeng senior, who played for Eastern Cape ABC Motsepe League sides Mthatha Liverpool and Tembu Royals told Andile Ncube on Sports @10.
“Those things help in terms of exposure, for example, how did people first hear about/know about Rele. Maybe if these things were available in our time, maybe even us, we’d be talking a different story.
“I realised around COVID times that my boy is talented during kasi tournaments. He’s hiding sometimes [his talent from me] so I was shocked because at the time, he was around 14 years.
“Someone said come and watch your boy and I went, he was in the first team. The last time I watched him play he was in school he was nine, 10 and when he turned 13, I told him football is going to waste your time, and it will hurt you so focus on school.
Why was Mofokeng Snr left in tears?
“So, that day I was invited I said let me go watch him after seeing him, I cried alone, and I was in awe, and I said you are almost like me, and he said; ‘I’m gonna be on TV soon and you’re going to pay to watch me.’”
Indeed, Sechaba is now watching his son on TV as he plays for Pirates and he has become a key member of Riveiro’s team as they challenge on multiple fronts.
So good has he been that Rele is now rumoured to be attracting interest from Spanish giants Barcelona, links that have left Sechaba dreaming that a deal materialises.
