VIDEO: Blind coach has insight into the beautiful game

A blind coach of a ladies team from Kathorus in Ekurhuleni, has made history by thumping the teams of his sighted counterparts to win the Maimane Alfred Phiri (Map) Games championship for women’s football.

Dumisani Ntombela, the blind coach of Silver Spears Ladies Football Club got one over his counterpart, Sammy Modiba of Alex Ladies, when his team won 3-1 in a penalty shootout to bag the trophy.

This after the two teams were tied 1-1 in regulation time after Spears scored a late equaliser.

Ntombela (26), who has been blind since the age of one after a cancerous tumour developed in his right eye and spread to the other, boasted to Phiri that he was going to win the ladies section of the tournament.

“I told Phiri that a miracle was going to happen at Alex Stadium and that I will win his tournament,” said Ntombela.

“I told him to watch this space.”

Ntombela is an astute tactician who has no coaching qualifications but continues to astound highly qualified coaches with his skills, tactical moves and substitutions in games.

His team is on the verge of being crowned champions of the Ekurhuleni Women’s League after going 17 games unbeaten, which includes no draws.

Ntombela started playing football in 1996 with other children of the neighbourhood in the dusty streets of his Vosloorus home. They formed a team which they called Chelsea after their favourite English Premier League team.

“For no apparent reason, neighbours began to be jealous and started questioning why I was playing soccer with their children [because] I was blind and was supposed to be caged at home. [They said] that I should not be allowed to go outside in the yard to play with their children,” he said.

“Things got nastier by the day and, at one stage, one of our neighbours instructed her children to deliberately harm me as we were playing, so that maybe I would stop playing with the neighbourhood children.”

The injuries he sustained from that encounter angered his father. His dad took matters into his own hands and assaulted the children who had harmed his son. The neighbour reported him to the police and his father was given a five-year suspended sentence.

But even this unfortunate incident couldn’t dampen Ntombela’s passion for football. He continued playing street soccer with those children willing to kick a ball with him. One day a local man only known as Papi noticed Ntombela’s talent and contacted a reporter from the Sunday Times who wrote a story about this unique individual.

WATCH: Dumisani Ntombela speaking during the Map Games.

In 2010, Ntombela formed Silver Spears Football Club for boys. The following year, he introduced a girls section to the club.

“I realised there were a number of young girls loitering in the streets, drinking beer and taking drugs, including indulging in sex resulting in teenage pregnancies,” he said.

“I wanted to take them away from all these evils through playing football.”

Ntombela has won four trophies with his girls team and 12 with the boys in various ages groups in the local league and inter-local football association games.

Details: Dumisani Ntombela 072 630 2813.