Meet the Players of South Africa’s 2009 Homeless World Cup team.

Vuyo Mehlo currently lives in Phillip, outside of Cape Town, with his grandmother and grandfather. While he was the youngest member of South Africa’s 2008 Homeless World Cup team, he represented his country with pride and focus on the court, often serving as a secret weapon, due to his humble nature yet accurate goals. Vuyo is currently in grade eleven and hopes to study to become a police officer. His desires are to use his life to work towards eliminating the crime and violence in his country and to help those who are struggling. His hopes are to see a crime free South Africa.

Riaan Du Plessis has been playing soccer since 1999 when his family began to live at the Ark City of Refuge in Khayalitcha. Since then, he has built up his skills on the court and is talented when it comes to soccer tricks and fancy footwork. Riaan loves music, as well. He and his brother write music together and freestyle for fun. He is currently twenty years old and is interested in pursuing a career in computers and IT. In his free time, he works fixing computers and recently started back at school to finish grade ten and eleven. He hopes to attend an international university and continue to see the world throughout his life.

Ethan Theys grew up playing field soccer and only began playing street soccer once he was chosen for the Homeless World Cup team. He has enjoyed the challenges of learning to be clever on the court within the rules of street soccer and served his team well in Melbourne. Ethan is seventeen years old and currently lives with his mother outside of Cape Town. His success in soccer and his international opportunities have made him a beacon of hope in his home and community and Ethan works hard to stay out of trouble and to pursue positive opportunities with his life. He recently returned to school to complete grade eleven.

Petros NKomo a.k.a. “Rasta” was born in Soweto, in Johannesburg, and moved to Cape Town for the Homeless World Cup trials. Now, twenty-nine years old, he has been playing soccer since he was very young and says that soccer is in his blood; that when he plays soccer, he feels full, complete, happy. Rasta played keeper–or goalie–for the team and worked incredibly hard to represent South Africa well and with pride while in Melbourne. Having one of the hardest jobs, Rasta had to play every match, the entire match, as he was the only keeper, meaning while at the Homeless World Cup, he had to play three or four matches a day, often against incredibly challenging teams. Not many could get a goal past Rasta.  These days, he is training to become a coach to share his abilities with his community.

Sandile Mhlongo grew up in Durban. His guardian passed away when he was a young boy and he has lived on his own since he was eight years old, negotiating life on the street. Now, at age twenty-four, he says that he has since found a new family in his teammates and is thankful for the opportunity he had to go to the Homeless World Cup. He played through the tournament as a starting player, all the while nursing an injury. Full of hope and laughter, Sandile is a strong believer that we must use our chances well in life and he hopes to complete his schooling and go on to be a soccer journalist and photographer.

Sicelo Mrnaji has been playing soccer since he was a small boy and has had several opportunities come his way due to his skill in the game. He was originally chosen to play on the 2007 Homeless World Cup team but was unable to go due to complications in securing his Visa. A strong team member on the court, Sicelo plays a hard game of street ball and represented his country well while in Melbourne. Originally from Khayalitcha, he has been living on the street since he was five, when his older cousin took him into Cape Town and left him there alone. He is now nineteen years old and recently completed his high school education, passing his exams. He hopes to soon enroll in a University and go into sports management. Soccer is his passion because he claims that when he plays, he feels stress free.

Thapelo Kalpens was the 2008 Homeless World Cup team’s co-captain. He has been playing soccer since he was six years old and is now twenty. Currently, Thapelo lives in Woodstock, and has just finished his metric/high school education. Known for dedication to his work and studies, his responsibility, skill, and support of his team, Martin Africa chose Thapelo to take his place as the team’s captain, in his absence. Thapelo enjoyed his first time overseas in Australia and plans to soon attend University to study Engineering.

Martin Afrika was set on being a part of the 2008 Homeless World Cup team and with dedication and hard work during the trials, he stood out so much that he was named the team’s captain. Martin has been living on the street since he was ten years old and now, at thirty-two, he has no record of his birth or existence via identity documents or family. Without identity documents, he was unable to obtain a visa and a passport to travel with the team to Melbourne. Keeping his head up, however, he has committed to continue pursuing his ID papers as well as to stay clean off of drugs and alcohol, find work and take care of his three year old son. Martin is currently in the final round of trials to be a part of the 2009 Homeless World Cup team traveling to Italy.