A warm welcome for Masuluke

A popular businessman, Mr Howard Mashaba, in partnership with the Greater Giyani Municipality, hosted a welcoming party at Giyani Stadium on Saturday to welcome the goalkeeper of Baroka, Oscarine Masuluke, back home.

A week ago, he attended a Fifa event in London as one of the three nominees for the esteemed Puskas Award. The award honours the best goal scored over the past year. The eventual winner was the Arsenal striker, Olivier Giroud, and the other two nominees were Masuluke and Deyna Castellanos, star of the Venezuelan women's team.

Masuleke’s goal, a bicycle kick from the edge of the area at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on 30 November last year, was the favourite among local fans. The goal in injury time resulted in a 1-1 draw in the league match against Orlando Pirates. Masuluke was the first South African to finish in the top three for the Puskas Award, but he is also the first player from Africa to become a finalist.

According to Mashaba, Masuluke's goal did not only put his name on the map, but also that of his village. "When he was nominated to be in the top three, I was so happy that a boy who grew up playing in the dusty streets could make it to the international stage," he said.

Giroud received 36.17% of the votes for his goal against Crystal Palace in the English Premier League on New Year’s Day 2017, Masuleke’s goal received 27.48 % of the votes and Castellanos’ goal for Venezuela against Cameroon received 20. 47% of the votes.

During the event, Xitsonga musician Benny Mayengani donated R10 000 to Masuluke, while artists such as Penny Penny, Percy Mfana and Joe Shirimani entertained the crowd. 

The mayor of Greater Giyani Municipality, Cllr Sasavona Mathebula, has applauded Masuluke for being nominated in the top three. "We hope that other children will also emulate and walk in your path. This is very great. We urge all young people to participate in sports and arts," she said.

SAFA’s boss, Dr Danny Jordan, congratulated Masuluke on his achievement. "Well done to you, Masuluke, for flying the South African and Africa's flag high. Despite the outcome, you have done the continent proud by making it into the top three of such a top award," he added.

Oscarine Masuluke, popularly known as Zimba, was born in N'wamankena Village outside Giyani. It was also announced that a community hall would be named after Oscarine Masuluke in N'wamankena Village.

Date:04 November 2017

By: Mbulaheni Ridovhona

The 22-year-old Mbulaheni (Gary) Ridovhona has been passionate about journalism to the extent that he would buy himself a copy of weekly Univen students' newsletter, Our Voice. After reading, he would write stories about his rural village, Mamvuka, and submit them to the very newsletter for publication. His deep-rooted love for words and writing saw him register for a Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies at the University of Venda, and joined the Limpopo Mirror team in February 2016 as a journalism intern.

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