23 October 2018 – Former Bafana Bafana striker Sbusiso ‘Rhee’ Zuma has launched an initiative in the form of an u17 Schools tournament called Rheeloaded Schools Cup which he said would be run in conjunction with the South African Football Association (SAFA).
Zuma who had successful overseas stints in Denmark and Germany and has played in the FIFA World Cup for Bafana Bafana, the UEFA Champions and Europa League Cup tournaments says the initiative was one way of giving back to society on the African continent.
Zuma has already started a soccer academy in the Eastern Cape and his intention is to grow this by having such academies across the African continent.
“This is one way one way of thanking the people of this great continent (Africa) for supporting me all these years,” he said adding that the u17 Rheeloaded Schools Cup would make a direct contribution towards strengthening grassroots football.
Zuma believes that focussing on grassroots development will go a long way in making national teams do better in world tournaments adding SAFA alone cannot do everything without the help of various stakeholders.
The legend said the Schools tournament would be played on Provincial level and the ultimate winner will, among other things, get a chance to travel to Germany or Denmark to play against Armina Bielefeld or FC Copenhagen u17 sides.
Zuma said former Bafana Bafana players who used to play with him will be part of the ambassadors of the tournament.