Wesley Sneijder, Fabio Cannavaro, Carlos Tevez, Raul Gonzalez, and Mateo Kovacic are among some of the best football players and have one thing in common – before the dizzying heights of fame and fortune, they all started off as ball boys.
Omphile Shuping, one of the North-West University (NWU) Eagles team members taking part in the 2022 Varsity Sports Football tournament, also started as a ball boy for the NWU team during the inaugural Varsity Football tournament in 2013.
Omphile, affectionately known as “The General” by his fellow NWU Eagles, joined the NWU Soccer Institute in 2020, but only started playing in the Varsity Football tournament in 2021.
He says he always wanted to be part of the action. “I’ve always wanted to be part of the NWU Soccer Institute team after being a Varsity football ball boy in 2013.”
Omphile’s football passion started when he was a little kid playing in the streets.
“I started playing for a team named Magra when I was 11 years old and stayed with them until I was 14. After that I joined another team in my home area known as the Debunkers for a year, and before I joined the Mafikeng Rocks where I grew both as a player and a person. I learned a lot about life and soccer in the six years I spent there,” says Omphile.
Omphile, currently playing in the rear left back position due to two NWU left backs being injured, has scored two goals for the NWU Eagles in the 2022 Varsity Football tournament thus far. He says the team’s spirit is very high as they are preparing for their next game against the 2021 Varsity Football champions, the University of Johannesburg (UJ).
“The upcoming game against UJ is crucial. Having bounced back by winning our last home game against the University of KwaZulu-Natal from a setback loss in the game before that, we must keep up the momentum and take the challenge to our opponents in the next game. It won’t be easy, but with the support of the NWU purple army and our coach’s plan, I am confident that we will prevail,” says Omphile.
After being a ball boy in the 2013 Varsity Football tournament, Omphile Shuping’s dream came true – he is now part of the NWU Eagles team, the current log leaders in the 2022 Varsity Football tournament.
