Limpopo’s pride

BENNY’S Care Sports Development Academy from Makhado might have only finished in seventh place overall in the u/19 Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Cup, but a fine performance in the national final by one of the team members has led to the player receiving an opportunity of a lifetime.

Benny’s attacking midfielder, Lesedi Katinga, was invited to attend a training camp, run by Mamelodi Sundowns in Cloorkop, Midrand, from November 29 to December 4.

Not only will he get an opportunity to be trained by some of the best soccer development coaches in South Africa, but he will also get to play against Mamelodi Sundowns’ first team.

At the end of the camp, three or four players will be invited to join the Sundowns development academy, and Katinga is hoping to be one of them.

Katinga hails from Musina, where he lives with his mother and half brother.

Soccer is his passion and the career path he would like to follow.

He says he hasn’t thought beyond soccer and Benny’s Sports was the right school for him, being the only sports school in Limpopo, he says.

Katinga says he was groomed in soccer from an early age by his cousin, the late Lesley Manyathela, who played for Orlando Pirates before he was killed in a car crash.

“Manyathela was my hero and role model and would give me advice on how to be a better player.

I would sit and watch him on TV with so much pride.

“He also did so much to promote our small town of Musina and I would like to continue to fly the town’s flag high, even have my own team one day, which would aim to help build future stars,” says Katinga.

“With my cousin no longer with us, I now look up to the likes of Lionel Messi. He is a star quality player and he never disappoints. I really love watching him as he works very hard, and that shows on the pitch.”

Katinga joined Musina United FC in 2010.

He was spotted by Benny’s coach, Justice Matloga at a tournament and Matloga asked him to join the school. “I went there in 2011 and have never looked back,” he says.

The young footballer is not new to Cloorkop. “I was invited to attend trials for Sundowns in 2011 and 2012, but was not selected into the academy.

“This year I have been invited to attend a camp and I hope that it will be a case of third time lucky. I just have to work hard and focus on my training.

“I think that my soccer career has a better chance in Gauteng than in Limpopo, because there are more opportunities and the facilities are better.”