With guidance from the former SuperSport United star Thabo Mnyamane, Tebatso Sebela, a performance analyst in the Super League, achieved his lifelong dream fuelled by his passion for football.
Sebela, a 25-year-old from Mafefe Mahlatjane, was raised in Ga-Mathabatha Madikeleng in the Limpopo province.
Football is like a religion to him, and his passion for the sport began at a very young age. He credits two individuals, Aphane Knowledge and Charles Makgareetsa, for their support during his early playing days. He recalls that Makgareetsa once motivated him by buying him a pair of Reebok soccer boots to encourage him to train every day.
Currently, Sebela serves as a performance analyst for the Copperbelt Ladies FC, a women’s team that competes in the Hollywoodbets Super League. He realised that many people aspire to become professional football players or coaches to contribute to the sport, which led him to pursue a career as a performance analyst.
HOW THABO MNYAMANE PLAYED A ROLE IN HELPING TEBATSO SEBELA BECOME A CERTIFIED PERFORMANCE ANALYST
Sebela, a certified performance analyst with the Professional Football Scouts Association (PFSA), expressed gratitude to Mnyamane for helping him register with the PFSA, even mentioning that Mnyamane is the wallpaper on his phone.
Mnyamane is currently working as the performance analyst and set piece coach at Sekhukhune United.
“I draw my inspiration from analyst Thabo Mnyamane, and he will always remain one of my favourite people in the analyst industry because he’s the one who helped me to enrol with PFSA,” Sebela told FARPost.
“He inspires me a lot. I love Thabo Mnyamane; even on my wallpaper is him. What I like most about him is that he’s friendly. We even talk more often on WhatsApp.
He revealed that former Kaizer Chiefs performance analyst and scout Sinesipho Mali is his role model. Mali currently works as the head scout and technical analyst at Babina Noko.
“Analyst Mali is my role model. One day, I want to be like him…” he added.
TEBATSO SEBELA REFLECTS ON WORKING FOR A WOMEN’S TEAM
Sebela noted that being part of a women’s team presents challenges; however, the positive aspect is that the women’s league is growing in SA.
“Working with women’s teams is challenging because ladies are not 100% invested in football compared to boys,” added Sebela.
“With the standard of the league, I won’t go deep. But the standard is too low compared to the men’s league. But the league is growing every day. We’re getting there.”
Sebela expressed his desire to eventually work as a team performance analyst in the Betway Premiership and national team set-up.
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