Mambo Jambo: A warrior from Mambo
Sport
When the towering no-nonsense Orapa United defender Olekantse ‘’Moropa” Mambo started kicking the pigskin in the tiny village of Mambo, would not approve. Fast forward to now, his persistence now has his parents in smiles as he is slowly rising to stardom.
Speaking to WeekendSport, days after being the fifth player to be inducted in the historic monthly recognition initiative by the premiership, Mambo expressed gratitude for the award before going on to reveal how it all started.
‘’I’m happy for the recognition and this is a sign that there are people who are watching us. This will motivate us going forward,” the lanky player said.
The player together with Jwaneng Galaxy mentor, Philani Mabena were this week announced as player and coach of the month of December by the premiership study group respectively.
Having grown up in a small village, the 27 year old remembered how he received harsh punishments from his parents for attending daily football training at Mambo Primary School.
“There was no support. My parents didn’t believe much in football being something that could put bread on the table. But I persisted. By then I was a goalkeeper until in Secondary school. After Secondary I played in the constituency league and that’s when I was forced out of the goalposts by my talented brother and I opted for an on field position,” he recalled.
His dream to play in the elite football materialised in 2010 when he joined Ecco City Greens under the tutelage of Christopher Tembo, and like they say the rest is history.
‘’In fact, I initially went to Tafic but I u-turned to Ecco where I enjoyed myself,” he reminisced.
Under Tembo, the player gained a lot of experience as he rubbed shoulders with experienced campaigners like Malepa “Chippa” Bolelang and Nicholas “Mambush” Mathare.
Currently at Orapa, the player who was recruited by the then coach Maxwell Moyo has fitted well in the Madinda Ndlovu’s 4-1-4-1 system. He ticks all the boxes as he has only missed the first two games and ever since then the player has proven to be a reliable “apache” at the Ostriches backline.
A careful look in the Ndlovu’s style of play shows that Mambo is the initiator of the team’s attacks by pinpoint passes to the pacey wingers and also managing to close the strikers. So far the ostriches are the least conceding team with 9 goals, and credit apart from the whole team should go to the quartet of Mambo, Thabang “Marco” Mosige, Lesenya Ramoraka and the Tutume born Kealeboga Molebatsi. His brilliant display has seen the player receiving a number of “Man of the Match” awards, notably against Township Rollers and Gaborone United.
Sharing his ambitions, the 27 year old player’s dream is to play outside the border and says if only he can “play in a better league precisely in South Africa I would be happy”.
The player is currently contracted to the Boteti team until 2020, and he is very happy, “we are well taken care of, even our welfare I can’t complain about it. I’m happy in Orapa,” he said in an interview.
This weekend Orapa will host rivals Jwaneng Galaxy at Itekeng. The team is seated at position two with 45 points and they could be on path to clinch the Premiership title as pace setters Rollers are adrift of them by 12 goals.
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The year 2022 witnessed unprecedented phenomena. Several Africans- Gotytom Gebreslase, Sharon Lokedi, Victor Kiplangat, Tamarit Tola and many others- swept the World’s marathons records.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting control measures implemented in several countries, led to many high-level sports competitions being cancelled or shelved, the Dakar 2022 Youth Olympic Games was moved to 2026.
Founder and Executive Chairman, African Sports and Creative Institute, Will Mabiakop, says the inability to hold traditional and amateur sports events have had a serious effect on public health overall, including mental health, sparking a revolution whereby athletes began to talk more openly about stress, mental overload and performance anxiety.
“Africa is home to the fastest growing economies before the crisis, no longer on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). COVID-19 deepened interdependence between SDGs, making them harder to achieve, especially SDG 10 (reducing inequality) and SDG 5 (gender equality_ as the pandemic had a disproportionate impact on poorer countries, and heavier burdens (such as care work) fell to women.”
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“The sports economy worldwide is estimated at 5% of GDP, but only 0.5% in Africa. If exploited, Africa’s sports and creative industries can offer policymakers innovative solutions. Especially, as regards job creation, and providing employment to the 15 million people entering the job market annually.”
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Mabiakop indicated that policymakers can use these industries to tackle multiple crises- jobs, poverty, and climate risks. Sports diplomacy- defined as communication, representation and negotiation in or through the prism of sports- has proven effective in building inclusive and cohesive societies. Moreover, sports and the creative industry can support better mental health and well-being, both important for productivity.
“Policymakers can also be true to the game by leveraging culture and tradition to celebrate identity and reap commercial value in sports, textiles and jewelry. Creative sectors allow deeper connection with culture, are not easily copied and provide great economic potential.”
He said supporting grassroots sports has powerful distributional effects. “Fortunately, technology has made reaching wide audiences easier, generating higher rates of success when talent is discovered.”
However, Mabiakop held that potential pitfalls must be highlighted. “First avoid build it and they will come policies with infrastructures denuded from the rest of the ecosystem. Like the many sports stadiums left largely unused.”
“Policymakers must remain mindful of how these sectors move the needle in human capital development. Also, align the requisite public policies needed for progress from grassroots participation to professional sports, and even to international sporting events. They should also support investment instruments to render these sectors performant.”
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