Sibusiso Vilakazi is a self-confessed mama’s boy and the 2014 Premier Soccer League Footballer of the Year is comfortable with the label.

It quickly becomes evident during our exclusive sit-down, the former Bidvest Wits, Mamelodi Sundowns and Bafana Bafana attacker has a soft side nurtured for years by his mother, Fikile, who hasn’t stopped backing Vilakazi even in the twilight of his career at Sekhukhune United. 

She worked for years as a magazine merchandiser with support from her husband, Bongani, a taxi driver who equally put in long hours and countless shifts to make sure there was enough food on the table. 

Vilakazi describes his family as deeply rooted in the community, which has cultivated another burning desire in him to become active as a youth leader and an example in his community. 

The soon to be 34-year-old lights up when he talks about his parents, still living and influencing his decisions now that he too, is a parent. Sibusiso is a father to five year-old Okuhle, whom he describes as the love and light of his life.

“My mom is probably the one who does the calling now to check on me and Okuhle. My childhood was absolutely beautiful and I can now proudly say I have been blessed enough to buy my parents a house in Orlando as soon as I was in a position to thank them by doing something big for them,” he says of his mother. 

“I won that big award [most coveted FOTY] and as soon as I got that money [R250 000 prize] I went to the bank and if you are with the title sponsor at the time then Absa doubled the amount. My parents, especially my mom, were always there step by step – everything I needed they tried their best to make sure I was able to get it. They truly loved me, still love me. I was raised with love.”

And this was not black tax. 

“It was far from it. I saw my mom go to work and come back late, that was her routine. She got up early around 5am and came back in the evening. I’d say that was the drive for me, seeing a mother of three [Vilakazi has two brothers] work so hard made me promise she will not work again once I am in a position to provide. The most important thing, even in a four-room house where at times you sleep on the floor and wishing you had your own bed, is a home filled with love.”

What about his dad, the taxi driver? 

“I also told him he had done enough for us. It was my responsibility, out of love, to look after them. My request to them now has been to just enjoy life. What is important to me right now is to be able to sustain this – I have to make it and I have to manage this. I moved from Wits to Sundowns, I was there for years and at a certain salary cap. I am mindful of that and I always should know exactly what’s next despite having the injury scares where I thought my career would be over,” explains Vilakazi as he relives the horrifying memory of twice having to deal with sitting on the sidelines due to an Achilles tendon rupture. 

Footballers hardly come back the same from the operation table, and while Vilakazi might have lost a bit of the old self, coupled with whatever mental trauma that comes with it and the consequent major setback of not doing what you love for that long…he emerged a much stronger character. 

“My parents have drilled the foundation that I now have, how I think about life, values such as respect and also how I see the future. It’s because of them that I have never wanted to become a failure. Even at school I am proud to say they pushed me to do well to a point where I was always on the podium when my school, Indoni High in Meadowlands, was recognizing the best students. Like a lot of the kids at school, I also saw myself one day being a lawyer, doctor or the president but ended up studying Business Management at Unisa whilst playing football professionally. We did not have a proven soccer player that we looked up to and said ‘okay, this one has achieved everything and is successful after football’ – I don’t remember clear examples, maybe just the [Bafana Bafana] 1996 Africa Cup of Nations squad for what they achieved then,” he adds. 

As he winds down a career with more highs than lows, Vilakazi is thinking more and more about being a positive role model. 

It’s where his work in the community through The Great Vila Foundation gives us a glimpse of how he is then likely to while away the rest of his time and life when he does eventually retire and hang up his boots. 

“I wouldn’t want to be remembered as a good footballer, I want to be known as a guy that had a great impact during my playing days and long after because I will still be doing 1, 2, 3 and 4 – and successfully so. My career speaks for itself, those [accolades] are in the cabinet. We can dust them off and show them off,” Vilakazi says. 

“A lot of the plans for the future have been existing in my mind – they have been there, and now it’s a matter of implementation. How am I going to make them visible? I have started already with the foundation, although it was quite sudden and hadn’t been planned. We needed to act quickly and address what is happening in our community at the moment.” 

The man nicknamed ‘Valdez’ began dreaming early on to map out his future – from trying his luck at Orlando Pirates as a teenager to making the most of an opportunity handed to him by Roger de Sa at Wits. 

He then joined Mamelodi Sundowns for what was then reportedly a club record fee at just over R10-million and then playing for Bafana at the height of his career, but Vilakazi feels as though the youth where he grew up don’t aim high enough. 

“These days kids don’t dream, mainly because they don’t have heroes – someone to look up to and say ‘yes, I want to be like them’. We need to allow them to be kids and have these wild and crazy dreams. They aren’t doing that anymore. We also started an academy, a separate entity but with the same goal, under the same umbrella. We want to tap into the mindset of the kids. My greatest ambition is just to make them see that it is doable. It’s just a matter of how you go about it. The problem these days is that they are normalising bad habits like this hubbly-bubbly [hookah smoking pipe]. At that age I wouldn’t even dare touch a cigarette and if you did there would be consequences. Maybe, this way we can find our future athletes who just need better role models and people that can encourage them to just go for it,” he says. 

This is a full circle moment for Vilakazi because his mother instilled these virtues while he was growing up.

“I am a better person and father because I was raised this way. All these things come with experiences. My mom always emphasised this and would always joke that I shouldn’t be a womaniser – her words, especially to me as a man, were powerful. It came with pressure as well because I had this thing of wanting to be a hero. But I have embraced it even more now that I am older.” 

Speaking of his daughter, Sibusiso believes that he is a much better person because of her. “She is the best thing to happen to me, the center of my world. Every decision is based on her wellbeing and making sure she is as loved as I felt growing up. My life is no longer about me now.” 

Sibusiso Vilakazi is all grown up and is no bad boy, just a son, brother, father who wants to be a pillar for his community.

CREDITS:

CREDITS:
Cover star: Sibusiso Vilakazi
Cover story: Mazola Molefe
Editor-in-Chief & Producer: Bonnie Meslane
Production Manager: Celine Abrahams
Managing Editor: Sesetu Holomisa
Photographer: Khotso of RTC Studios
Creative Direction: Lesego Kgosimolao & Bonnie Meslane
Makeup: Caroline Greeff
Wardrobe & Styling: Lesego Kgosimaola
Wardrobe Assistant: Lonwabo Kabingesi & Bongiwe Masina
Photography team: RTC Studios
Lighting Director: Austin Malema
Digitech: @TyroneJhns
Assistant: Tshepo Zitha & Donovan Malema
Graphic Design: Herbert Chaunzwa
Social Media Manager: @_uthandok 
Videography: Michael Dlamini

Wardrobe credits: 
Look 1:
Accessories: @preview_accessories
Denim pants: @siranthonyjeans

Look 2:
Accessories: @preview_accessories
Denim vest & pants: @siranthonyjeans
Footwear: @the_antipode_official available / @preview_designer_collection

Look 3:
Accessories: @preview_accessories
Shorts & Jacket: @karllagerfeld / @preview_designer_collection
Footwear: @the_antipode_official available / @preview_designer_collection