His parents named him Oreabetse Bokamoso, which translates to “God has blessed us for the future”. Now the 15-year-old soccer player from Brits in North West has an opportunity of a lifetime – a trip to the Xanadu Spain Soccer Tour, which takes place in October and will see him on trial for European giants Barcelona.
Oreabetse Bokamoso Mollo was scouted when he was playing for Rabboni Christian School at a tournament in Hartbeespoort at the beginning of March.
Proud parents
Oreabetse’s mother, Masego, described her son’s special opportunity as “exciting and scary at the same time”. The teenager’s father, Mpho, added that the family is extremely proud of their first-born’s achievements.
“Oreabetse doesn’t stop surprising us. By this I mean we’ve seen from a young age that he was special just based on his school achievements. But we never thought it would come to this magnitude. In the history of our family, we’ve never seen anything like this before. So, you can imagine the amount of joy and excitement we have as a family,” Mpho told Daily Maverick.
Masego said that although she is always there for her son, who is in Grade 9 at Lighthouse Christian College (though he represents its affiliate, Rabboni Christian School, on the soccer field), she never imagined that his passion for soccer would provide such an amazing opportunity for him.
This is even though Oreabetse chose soccer as an eight-year-old, back in 2018, when he was in Grade 2. He was born in 2010, when South Africa became the first African country to host the World Cup.
“Truly speaking, I was just being a mother and supporting my son. That’s it. And he’s an A-student. So, I’ve always known that when it comes to school, we don’t have any issues. We don’t struggle [with motivating him to do what he needs to do]… His focuses are soccer and school,” Masego said.
“But with the soccer, I was just dropping him off and waiting until he finished. Every weekend, that’s my job – to take him to soccer matches, or to training during the week. I never thought he was that good until Saturday, 1 March, when he was selected for this trip,” the proud mother added.
“I was like, yoh, I didn’t know you played soccer so well. And he just laughed and told me I don’t take him seriously. But he’s right, I never took him seriously. I was just being a mommy and supporting my child… He’s such a good boy.”
Midfield maestro
Oreabetse plays as a central midfielder and draws inspiration from a number of international stars, including Barcelona teenager Pedri, Manchester City superstars Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden, and retired midfield magician Thiago Alcântara.
“I feel happy [being given this opportunity]. But I still need to work hard and do even more in order for them to notice me there,” Oreabetse said. “What I love about soccer is that it makes me happy and I forget about everything else when I’m playing – situations at home, school or anywhere else.
“How I combine school and soccer is time management. I’m not an outgoing person, so I’m usually either at home relaxing, at the gym or studying. I just want to make my parents proud.”
Although they are situated in Brits now, the family is originally from the Mothotlung township, on the town’s outskirts. Masego is a process controller at Sasko (a subsidiary of PepsiCo) and Mpho works for the Department of Roads and Transport as a deputy director asset manager.
Despite both of them being employed, the cost of the trip for their talented son is beyond the Mollos’ financial means. They estimate it will cost about R100,000 for everything. This includes travel, a visa application, accommodation and meals for his stay, which will be just over a week.
While they are hoping for the best after setting up a BackaBuddy account, Masego can’t help but beam with pride at her son’s achievements. She said she thinks he takes after her athletically.
“I played soccer when I was in school, and I was quite good. I also did athletics… I really enjoyed it. I’ve got the body for it, so I excelled. So, he took after me. But his body structure is that of his dad… He’s got a younger sister, who is 10 years old. She also plays anything and everything.”
Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona. (Photo: David Ramos / Getty Images)
La Masia
As part of his trip to Spain, Oreabetse will have an opportunity to participate in a trial at one of the best soccer academies in the world – Barcelona’s La Masia. It has produced superstars such as Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Andrés Iniesta and even super manager Pep Guardiola, to name just a few.
At the moment, La Masia graduates such as Lamine Yamal, Gavi and defender Alejandro Balde command starting places in the Barcelona side.
That La Masia has produced such quality demonstrates its strength. Every youngster signed is living the dream of a number of youngsters globally. They are the crème de la crème, and this opportunity for Oreabetse will open many doors for him, even if he ends up not staying in Spain.
“It would mean a lot. It’s going to change everything and we know that this will be a life-changing opportunity for Oreabetse and we want nothing more,” said Mpho.
“Support your children. Do your best. You don’t have to have the most money or resources, just use whatever you have to support your children, because that’s what they need to realise their potential,” was Mpho’s message to parents with equally talented kids. DM
To help Oreabetse Mollo realise his dream of going to Barcelona, visit his BackaBuddy page.
This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.
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