Squad 19/20

​Xolela Ndude
Age:   24 Position: Head Coach     Nickname: X
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“Joining this club was the easiest decision I have ever made. Having the club in Hout Bay has installed hope in children from all three communities- helping educate them academically, and eventually getting them employment outside of football. HBUFC has also uplifted the whole community, not just the children, by giving them a place to all come together and support our talented team in a passionate atmosphere... this atmosphere is largely why the boys will do anything to win games. To help them get these results, I look up to Pep Guardiola in scouting the opponents before our games and training accordingly to exploit their weaknesses. Even from a young age when I was playing, I liked to observe the tactical approach of the opponents and I would adjust my game. It was moments like these, where I knew I would become a coach someday and now I am here, at Hout Bay United Football Community, coaching a team with the support of the best manager in the world: Jürgen Klopp.”

Luyanda Niyake
Age:   32     Position: CM (C)     Nickname: Mah'mah
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​"The fact that this is a rainbow team which brings all races together will keep me here as I finish my career as a soccer player and hopefully into a coaching position. I don’t come from here but playing for the team has helped me settle in to the community and create loving relationships between all my brothers from the three areas of Hout Bay. When the whole community leaves everything aside to come watch us play, it makes me thankful because I feel more connected to the fans uniting around the field coming from such different backgrounds- more so than the thousands who would come watch me when I played in the PSL."

Chrissando Minnaar
Age: 22    Position: CM    Nickname: Rambo
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 “HBUFC provides a very professional environment even though it is a charity and only semi pro. Playing for the club allows me to showcase my talent and possibly have a promising career professionally... I enjoy the company of the players around me but most of all   the way we play because I know we are being coached how to play football the right way!”​

 Dillon Lakay
 Age: 24    Position: LW/RW    Nickname: Zee
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 “Playing in front of the community and watching all races come together around the pitch to support us is something very special which challenges the deepest of deep misunderstanding between the history of cultures and races everywhere...   
Before I step onto our home pitch surrounded by the support of our amazing fans I say a silent prayer and jump twice in the air to calm myself down”

 Gabriel Warner
 Age: 24    Position: GK     Nickname: Gabba
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 “Representing HBUFC comes with a lot of responsibility and a rewarding feeling because all the young kids look up to me as a role model... when my kids reach the right age they will obviously play for HBUFC because it is a structured academy and something I could have only dreamed of as a kid... I looked up to Ronaldinho when I was a kid so when I first came here I was a striker but I realise I serve my team better as a goalkeeper where I can show off my acrobatics!”

Zukisani Kotswana
 Age: 22     Position: LW/LB     Nickname: Zuki
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​“When HBUFC was first established in 2014, I was 17 and coming from Chippa. My papers were with that team so I couldn’t play in the games for HBUFC but I trained with them and kept working hard for the whole first season and when I finally got my papers, I had already managed to settle into the team. Now I am 23 and I love representing my community and cannot wait to pass my experience on to the youth of Hout Bay. If I weren’t playing here I would probably be a DJ because I love my music and I love being able to uplift a crowd with good energy.”

​Siyabonga Ntozini
 Age: 31     Position: LW/RW     Nickname:  Siya

 “HBUFC is still very young but from the moment it was created I knew I was going to give it my all to play here. I am naturally gifted and with my hard work and discipline I knew I could play at a high level without traveling long distances outside of the community. I was here when  it started and now that I have a boy he is also in the team. I believe football has a way of saving lives and that is why my son and I are so blessed to be part of such a special club in such a special community.” 

 Samuel Scop
 Age: 19    Position: LW/RW    Nickname: Sam

 “I came to HBUFC to become an example for the youth of the community. In a country with so much racial tension, in some ways still divided by the barriers of apartheid, I take pride in knowing I can go into a different environment and show the youngsters that whether you are black, white, or coloured, we can all be friends and understand each others cultures. Seeing a white dude in the changing room chanting Xhosa songs before games is and should be a normal thing”

 Bonke Ntonjane
 Age: 22     Position: COM     Nickname: Lion

“I realised I could play for HBUFC when I was 19 and fully believed in my own abilities. I want to help them win league and eventually reach the highest level of South African football: the PSL... The night before a game I go to bed early and reflect on how I can best help the team the next day. I then pray before I play hoping to fulfil my capabilities to their greatest potential”

Nevaldo Classen
 Age: 20     Position: RB     Nickname:  Valdo

“HBUFC allows me to express myself on the playing field surrounded by a brilliant group of guys without having to travel far... on game day I take a nap to feel fully rested and then enjoy my journey to the field while being consumed by the beautiful scenery and listening to the perfect music to put myself in the zone for game day... On my off time I spend time with the guys who make up this team as-well as other friends and loved ones”

​Emile Arendse
 Age: 20     Position: CB/COM     Nickname: Milo
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"After coming here at the age of 17, I have witnessed the clubs value for guys like me who dream of getting the structured training sessions and opportunities off the pitch such as employment. I cannot wait to bring my son up in this community. I will support him with whatever he does and if it leads to HBUFC I’ll be more than happy. He’ll have the chance to be coached by my fellow players and represent his community in the same way I have”

Ambrose Jacobs
 Age: 20     Position: CM     Nickname: Ambie

"Before I arrived at HBUFC I was going from club to club never really finding my feet or reaching my full potential. I was not playing my best. Here I can play for my community and it is a completely different feeling which pushes me to do my best in every game... the fans support is all I need during my games- nothing else can beat it”

  Jack Welch
 Age: 20     Position: CB     Nickname: Jack

“I never really thought about whether I had enough quality to play at such a high competitive level. I always just let the exhilaration I experienced on the field carry me through each game and practice and let passion lead the way... I can see myself putting this passion into coaching or managing someday, providing children in this community the same tools to experience the beautiful game with the same euphoria”

   Sonwabile Mbiko
 Age:23     Position: CM/CB     Nickname: Soso

 “Before I played for HBUFC I was playing local football from as early as I can remember. When HBUFC was formed I thought I must challenge myself at that young age to play in a competitive league and improve with the older players around me. I became captain because my work ethic really showed and I was a leader. The most valuable thing about wearing the badge over my heart is being able to inspire young kids by showing them you can avoid many problems in the community through dedicating yourself to a sport and improving the atmosphere of Hout Bay at large while uniting the three separate townships."

 Godfrey Pelston
 Age: 21     Position: LB/LW     Nickname: Gotti

“This team has goals I want to be a part of. I left Ajax Cape Town at the age of 19 because I wanted to play for my community and having the support of fans who are close to me in my community means the world. My goal for this year is to help them win league, getting them one step closer to the PSL.”

Mzwandile Ntozini
 Age: 32     Position: ST     Nickname: Zwai

"I came here when I was 27 and wanted to improve my life through the beautiful game. I am now 32 and it has been the best club I have been a part of in my life. I am not sure how much longer I can play such competitive football at this age so I play for my teammates who surround me to help improve their lives and their career... This gives me a purpose- playing for my son, my family, and my team mates”

 Andile Sithole
 Age: 24     Position: RB     Nickname: Andy

"I have so much love for this team and the players. When I step on the pitch surrounded by the gents I feel so happy. I really want to help the team get to the highest level and if we continue in high spirits I know we can. Soccer has been my life from when I was looking up to Happy Jele as a small child in the PSL, now at HBUFC, and I want to keep it going through coaching.”

Sonwabile Phulo
 Age: 23     Position: RW     Nickname: Sony

"I really wanted the team to go forward and I felt like my skillset could help. I needed the love that football has to offer to protect me from a lifestyle I prefer to forget about. I enjoy playing against my team mates from Mandela park in a professional setting and I love sport too much so I show my community how happy I am on the football pitch. My favourite memory was  at the end of my first season in  2014 season when it came down to the last game and we had to win or we would get relegated and I opened up the scoring. It is a moment I will never forget   and moments like those are why my life will always revolve around sport." 

Asonele Ndilele
Age: 20     Position: ST/RW     Nickname: Messi
"I enjoy playing here because of the professionalism of the club and it’s a higher level than I thought I could play at. In 2017 I scored 7 goals in 11 games and I got the confidence I needed to excel here. I quickly got the nickname “Messi” which is a perfect fit because I looked up to him when I was younger and I have always tried to adapt my game to his- being small, quick, and skilful."

Niklas Paskert
Age: 25     Position: CB     Nickname: Nik

"You only get an opportunity like this once. Coming back from an injury it was quite difficult to make it into the team. Even though I played football my whole life back in Germany, when I heard about HBUFC and the semi pro level they play at, I knew I’d have to put in a lot of work. I am now very proud of myself for making it into the first team. They are a brilliant group of boys to play with and funny too!   When I was younger I looked up to Benedikt Höwedes, captain of Schalke 04 and won the World Cup with Germany without missing a single game, but now my fellow players at HBUFC are calling me Harry Maguire so I think he should be my new role model!"

Byron McKellar
Age: 24     Position: CB     Nickname: Ta Bye
"HBUFC is a competitive club with ambitions to do big things in the community of Hout Bay through football. Using football to improve the lifestyles of all the players and families is something I am really passionate about especially when I see how my mentorship impacts lives on and off the field. I love the players I am in the team with. I believe, with this club, we can reach the PSL. We all want more, we're from diverse backgrounds, cultures and races, unified by our love for football and shared goal- which I love!"

Serigne Niack
Age: 23     Position: Kit Manager     Nickname: Pogba
"​After getting injured I became the kit manager for the team. My grandmother used to tell me when I was younger ‘Pogba, you are really really sick, the way you are too organised, it’s too much, it’s a sickness’. The way I like my space to be too clean, I have my bottle there so it must be there, my shoes are supposed to be there so they must be there. My grandmother also said ‘even if the electricity is gone in your house, the way you organise, you will be able to know where is this, where is this, where is that’. While I know I fit the role of kit manager perfectly, after I make sure everything is organised I can go on to the field and give the boys my energy because I want to feel a part of everything with them- win, loss, tie, it doesn’t matter”

​​HOUT BAY UNITED FOOTBALL COMMUNITY TRUST

​​PBO NO. 930051398
(Approved Section 18A Exempt organisation)

www.hbufc.co.za  |  info@hbufc.co.za
​021 791 2200     or     071 144 8778

28 Victoria Avenue. Hout Bay. 7806

FOR DONATIONS:
Nedbank Hout Bay
Account No. 1104500612
Branch code. 16760900
​Swift code. NEDSZAJJ