To the person who discovered him and the other who nurtured him, Elias Mokwana's rapid rise from obscurity of amateur football to Esperance in Tunisia is not surprising.
Amateur football aficionado Sfiso “Shakes” Kabini immediately knew he had something special when he first laid his eyes on Mokwana while playing for a local team in KwaMhlanga in Mpumalanga, about 75km northeast of Pretoria.
Kabini referred Mokwana to former Orlando Pirates midfielder Tlou Segolela at Platinum City Rovers and the rest is history, as the Bafana Bafana attacker recently became the first South African to sign for Tunisian giants Espérance Sportive de Tunis.
It is a remarkable story. Four years ago Mokwana was playing amateur football for Team General and Gembok Classic in KwaMhlanga and now he is probably among the most expensive players on the continent.
The slick winger, picked from relative obscurity while still at Sekukhune United by Bafana coach Hugo Broos, set tongues wagging with his electrifying first few performances for the national team this year.
Segolela, asked about the rough diamond who arrived at Rovers aged 19 in 2019, said his story illustrates there is a lot of talent in the far-flung areas waiting to be discovered.
“The inspirational story of Mokwana shows there is no formula in football,” the former Orlando Pirates flyer said. “It shows there is no such thing to say there are certain steps one should take to the top. He must serve as motivation and an example for the young players in the rural villages.”
Segolela, who also played for Bafana, urged professional clubs to trust in players who did not go through academy structures and give them a chance to prove themselves.
“The unfortunate thing is most coaches don’t want to listen to us when we bring these type of players from the villages or far-flung townships. They don’t trust these types of players because they argue that they need to time to acclimatise as most of the time they are raw.
“For me, if the potential is there, you must believe in it and give it a chance to prosper. Mokwana has moved from nothing and signing for Esperance in less than four years and this is an inspirational South African story.”
Kabini said he was immediately impressed by Mokwana because he was comfortable on the ball and showed bravery in taking players on.
“I saw him when his team was playing in my tournament at KwaMhlanga in around 2018 or 2019 and I took him to Platinum City Rovers, where I was working at that time. At amateur tournaments he was a star player and he was known for being skilful and taking people on because he liked to express himself.
“When he got to professional level, he quickly learnt to play according to a coach’s instructions,” said Kabini.
Segolela takes up the story: “He was brought to Platinum City Rovers by Shakes who was working with us while we were still playing in the ABC Motsepe League. He made an immediate impression and he later helped the team get promoted to the National First Division (NFD).
“In the NFD he didn’t play that much at the beginning of the season, but he started to play during the Nedbank Cup qualifier against Witbank Spurs and from there he was a regular.
“He was good with one-on-ones. He has a goal in him and he has speed and trickery that you want from a winger. He could take on defenders to score goals — and now he has truly developed into a good footballer.”
Segolela said Mokwana had low confidence in himself when he arrived at the club.
“The challenge with most players from amateur ranks in the villages and townships is they have low self-esteem. They usually doubt themselves. But we guided hm until he gained confidence and believed in his ability, until he got used to the stage.”
Mokwana left Rovers for Sekhukhune, where his performances were noticed by Broos, who handed him his debut in a 1-1 friendly draw against Andorra in Algeria in May where the winger was arguably the star attacker of the night and scored a blistering equaliser.
“I am more than proud of what he has achieved in such a short space of time and I am happy for him,” Segolela said. “His success can serve as a source of motivation for kids in Mpumalanga and elsewhere in the country that they can make it if they work hard and take their opportunities.”
Kabini said he is proud to have played a small role in the development of Mokwana.
“I am really happy for him and I tell him every day because we are in contact. This proves there are a lot of players at amateur level, we just need to go out there and find them.
“I always attend these amateur tournaments and there are always players there. Some of them need a bit of time and work, but they can turn out well, like Mokwana did. As Segolela has already indicated, I also want to urge coaches to trust these players from amateur level.
“When he arrived at Rovers, a lot of work was done by the coaches to make sure that he acclimatised — and the rest is history.”
There is no doubt he has come a long way.
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