06 Jul 2020

Football is regarded as a short time career, hence the need to prepare for life after retirement.

Many players find it difficult to lead successful lives upon retirement.

In an interview, former Bay United and Zebras goalkeeper, Noah Maposa, shared how he prepared for life after football.

According to the former Gaborone United number one, it was important for players to plan for their future well in time.

“I used to ask myself how my life would be upon retirement. This question stressed me a lot, but the answers I got pointed me in the right direction,” he said.

He said this prompted him to venture into business.

Maposa stated that he had passion for transport business, hence the decision to venture into travel and tours.

“I then used all the money I had saved while playing in South Africa and locally to finance my business,” he said. He started with only two mini-buses.

He said the business grew over the years and he now owned four quantum mini-buses for travel and tours.

Furthermore, Maposa said he also owned other mini-buses that transported employees of some companies to and from work.

He indicated that upon his return after playing for Bay United, he built a house in Ramotswa, whose rental money he used to augment budget for his transport business.

Maposa said he also owned a beauty parlour business and he was constructing a multi residential compound in Mogoditshane.

He urged football players to plan for the future by investing.

He stated that for a football player to be successful, he should focus on his trade.

“Perseverance brings success,” he said.

For his part, former University of Pretoria Football Club and Zebras centre forward, Dipsy Selolwane, said education was key to a better life after football.

Dipsy said he considered himself one of a few lucky players.

“I managed to secure a government sponsorship to further my studies overseas, even though I did not graduate,” he said.

He said he had an interest to understand the business side of football, which prompted him to pay attention to every detail on how teams were managed.

He said his aim upon retirement was to create a platform that would assist young people who wished to turn into professional players, hence the decision to save money for that project.

Dipsy said upon retirement, his savings were not enough for the project, but with the help from stakeholders, he managed to start Dipsy Selolwane Football Academy in Phakalane.

He noted that to date the academy boasted 50 students and a good number of staff members.

He added that he had some other businesses such as supplies, construction and marketing.

Dipsy noted that the first rule of being a professional footballer was to respect the game, colleagues, yourself and work hard.

He emphasised the need for football players to get any tertiary qualification to fall back on.

 Dipsy said with education, players would have a better understanding of the world and be in a position to make more informed decisions.

He said he believed that considering how players were remunerated locally, there was no one who could survive his whole life with proceeds from the trade, hence the need to invest the little they received.

Former defensive midfielder, Mogogi Gabonamong, said it was better to prepare for the future while still active in football, indicating that armed with the knowledge that he could not play forever, he invested in farming.

He said he liked farming and it was the only thing he mastered besides football.

“Farming is not an overnight success, it takes a lot of learning, making mistakes and commitment, but I am enjoying it,” he said.

He indicated that in the process of preparing for life after football, one would encounter challenges and would have to find ways to overcome them.

“The challenges are there to test you and the most important thing is how you react to them,” said Mogogi.

He said life after football was not easy, it had more lows than highs, adding that the best way to ease the burden was to make the right decisions, while still active in the game.

He highlighted that he would like to coach at grassroot level in future.

“The other reason why I would like to unearth talent locally is not only to teach them basics of the game, but life skills too, which is very crucial in preparation for life after football,” he said.

Mogogi noted that a player needed  to have a big heart and stay focused in order to survive in the world of football. Ends