Oswin Appollis’s football journey began on the unforgiving streets of Bishop Lavis, a place where survival is a daily contest. Here, poverty thickens the air, unemployment stifles the dreams of youth, and the sound of gunfire is commonplace. It is a world where aspirations can vanish in an instant.
That was the relentless reality Appollis grew up in, an environment few manage to escape. Yet, his raw talent was undeniable, and it quickly drew attention.
Anthony ‘Tony Magic’ Sekuie, now 70, vividly remembers the moment he finally opened the door for a persistent nine-year-old Appollis, who would not stop asking for a chance. Sekuie explains why he ignored the young lad for an entire year.
“Oswin was nine years old when our paths first crossed,” Island Rovers U-9s coach Sekuie tells FARPost. “He knew me as a coach and pestered me to allow him to come play for Islands. His mates that accompanied him were up to no good, and that’s why I ignored him for a year. He insisted again, and because I knew his family, I decided to give him a go.”
Initially placed in the B-team, young Appollis quickly grew in confidence and earned a promotion to the A-team. “One day, our Under 15s played against Belhar Spurs with the scores level at 2-2. Oswin made a turn out of heaven to score the winner and left me flabbergasted. I knew there and then that he was destined for greatness,” adds Sekuie, who recently marked 40 years as a junior coach.
HE REMINDED ME OF STEVEN PIENAAR
As his confidence blossomed at Islands, the young talent’s prowess also drew attention at school. Lee Cloete, a friend and former teammate, vividly recalls their days wearing the John Ramsay High colours. Driven by Appollis’s inspired play, the team achieved a remarkable run, ultimately finishing as the runners-up in the 2018 Kay Motsepe Schools’ Championships.
“He was scouted and left for Ikamva to join Ajax Cape Town. He was there for a few years and excelled,” Cloete tells FARPost. “As someone who came from a very tough background, in terms of the community, he was already outstanding at a young age.”
Interestingly, famous Cape Town Spurs supporter, Lesley de Vos, says he saw flashes of Steven Pienaar in Appollis as early as 2017.
“The time Ossie joined Ajax, I was living in Pretoria and only returned in 2017,” de Vos told FARPost. “Then I saw him at the 2017 Engen tournament. He won both the Midfielder and Player of the Tournament awards, and later that year, he was named Ajax Cape Town Under-18 Player of the Year. He reminded me of Steven Pienaar, a genius who is always two steps ahead, super calm and decisive.”
Cloete’s memories of those days run deep. As he continued reflecting on their school days, he revisited one particular moment that, for him, confirmed everything he already knew about Appollis’s talent.
CLOETE: ‘HE WAS SCORING NON-STOP’
Cloete still holds a sharp memory of a triumphant Johannesburg tournament, an event utterly defined by ‘Ossie’s’ scorching hot streak. He was a goal machine that day, a spectacle that ensured whispers of his talent would follow the scouts back home.
“Then he picked up a slight injury on his right thigh,” recalls Cloete. “And it was a game we had to win to progress to the quarterfinals of the tournament. He and I were sharing a room. Oswin was a quiet guy but had his moments of talking.”
“After the injury, I advised him to get into an ice bath… I was treating him. I rubbed and strapped him up. The next morning, he woke up and told me, ‘Lee, I’m going to score a hat-trick today with my left foot because my right thigh is not lekker [good].’”
“In the first 30 minutes, he already scored his hat trick with his left foot. I’m not going to lie. That is the moment and the day I knew he was going to be big time, as we can see today… I will never, ever forget that day. Scoring three goals with his left foot while his right thigh was injured.”
ROCKY ROAD TO POLOKWANE CITY
After making his senior debut at SuperSport United aged 18 in 2019, Appollis faced challenges that threatened to derail his career. Returning to Cape Town, overweight and out of rhythm, he nearly walked away from football entirely. Kwanele Kopo, then coaching Pretoria Callies in the Motsepe Foundation Championship, took the bold step of bringing him back into the game.
“I was very emotional yesterday. I broke down in tears,” Kopo told SABC on 3 July after Pirates announced Appollis. “I’m so happy for him, it’s emotional, it’s difficult. I know where Oswin comes from, I know what Oswin has gone through… I said to him, ‘We can reinstate your career to get back into the national teams’. I said we can reinstate your career for you to go on and play for one of the big teams in South Africa, and yesterday [2 July 2025] was the completion of that process.”
Appollis’s revival at Callies led to a move to Polokwane City FC in the Betway Premiership, where his form flourished. He broke into Bafana Bafana and eventually earned a move to Orlando Pirates, fulfilling Kopo’s long-term vision.
Kopo added: “I took him to Callies when nobody wanted him, sitting at home for almost two years, he was overweight. We worked with him at Callies; he got sharp in one season, and suddenly he was the talk of the town.”
COLE ALEXANDER: ‘HE DID ME DIRTY MANY TIMES’
Former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Cole Alexander, who shared a dressing room with the 24-year-old attacker at Polokwane City, says he realised ‘the kid’ was special the moment he faced him in training.
“He has that ‘don’t care’ attitude,” Cole said on the Soccer Beat podcast. “The don’t care attitude, but with the right balance, in my opinion. It really works for him… When I started to train with him, I realised this boy is great.”
“The things he used to do to me,” the 36-year-old said. “I always wanted to compete with the youngsters at training… So, I wanted to show Appollis, and wow, he did me dirty many times. That’s when I realised we have a player here,” Cole added.
Just months into his move to the Buccaneers, he boasts four goals and six assists for Pirates. Bucs coach Abdeslam Ouaddou lauded the scouting department for identifying a talent like Appollis.
“He’s a special player, so that means the scouting department of Orlando Pirates has done well,” said Ouaddou. “They know the kind of players they want for the club, the identity of the club, and the style of play.”
BAFANA’S STAR BOY IN MOROCCO
At the last AFCON in the Ivory Coast, the skilful attacker played a bit-part role. Sekuie remembers his frustration at the time.
“I also recall that when he was drafted into the Bafana Bafana squad, he was a little frustrated about being on the bench. My words to him were to persevere. I asked him ‘Do you know how many players out there would love to be in your shoes?”
This time around, he goes to Morocco as Bafana coach Hugo Broos’s trump card, having scored five goals in recent national team games. According to the Belgian, the obvious sign of Appollis’ progress hasn’t been the goals or the flair. It’s what he does without the ball.
The 2017 AFCON winner with Cameroon, Broos, has noticed a shift in the winger’s overall game.
“Oswin has made a very big progression, so when I first saw him play in his former team, the qualities were there, but it was only in the offensive way,” said Broos. “Oswin has become more mature now… I see him working now; he works a lot.”
“He’s dangerous on the ball, he’s a good passer of the ball… He helps us a lot when we don’t have the ball. Oswin progressed a lot. Even though he’s small, he has the energy of someone who’s two times higher than him. I’m very happy with him, really,” Broos concluded.
South Africa’s Afcon 2025 campaign kicks off against Angola on Monday, 22 December, followed by Egypt on Friday, the 26th, before the final group game against neighbours Zimbabwe on the 29th.
By Siseko Gwegwe
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