5 December 2018 – Former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Junior Khanye baptised South Africa’s national Under-20 (Amajita’s) attacking player Promise Mkhuma with a nickname Mkhuthuzi (meaning a pickpocketer), after watching him play in Daveyton, a township they both grew up in.
And that is because Mkhuma has this incredible ability of finding pockets to slip past the opposition’s defence, and also get away with it with such ease.
Mkhuma did exactly that in his first ever COSAFA U-20 Championship match against Mauritius where Amajita walked away with a 5-0 victory in their opening Group B clash.
His stellar performance also saw him scoop his first ever individual man-of-the-match award since forming part of the Amajita national set-up.
The 18-year old midfielder dedicated his award to his fellow teammates and the Amajita technical staff, adding that he could not have done it without their tremendous support.
“Credit must go to all of my teammates and the technical staff as well,” Mkhuma said. “Everybody worked extremely hard for one another to get that result. We fought for one another and I am also happy that I was able to get an individual accolade as well.”
The COSAFA defending champions will face eSwatini in their final Group B match this Saturday (8 December 2018) at Nkana Stadium.
Mkhuma said it was important for team to approach that match in a professional manner like they did with Mauritius game.
Kick-off is at 13h00.
“Our next match will be against eSwatini this coming Saturday,” Mkhuma said. “My intention is to continue working hard for the team. We know that it is not going to be an easy game. However, we have every intention of coming out with a positive result in that game.”
Fact File
Name: Promise
Surname: Mkhuma
Nickname: Mkhuthuzi (Pickpocketer)
Age (DOB): 18, 24 May 2000
Position: Midfielder
Province: Gauteng, Daveyton
Club: Mamelodi Sundowns
Previous club: Amabhrede FC.
Caps: U20 – 5
Goals: 1
League: MultiChoice Diski Challenge