OFENTSE Danile Mofokeng has been granted an opportunity of a lifetime to travel overseas to make his rugby dreams come true.
The 17-year-old is a talented rugby player who was selected to travel to Ireland for a rugby tour that will expose him to professional training.
The Grade 9 pupil needed R51 500 to make the international trip. His plight went viral after his creative arts teacher posted a video on Instagram calling for funding.
South African sports stars, including Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, have helped fund the trip.
Mofokeng fell in love with sports at an early age. His high level of dedication, fitness, and skill on the field soon made him the most recognised player at Allen Glen High School in Roodepoort.
“I started playing rugby at nine years old. It’s a sport I used to watch frequently on television. When I played my first game, it was an epic feeling. I felt free, something I had never felt before. My dream is to play in the South African national team for the Springboks one day. It’s going to be life-changing,” he told SNL24 at his home in the Thabo Mbeki Village informal settlement near Lanseria.
His mother, Kholiwe Mofokeng (40), expressed her sincere gratitude to Kolisi for assisting with funding to make her son’s dreams come true as he jets off to Ireland in December.
“Siya Kolisi called, and we never spoke about anything because my husband and I couldn’t stop crying. This is what we’ve been hoping and praying for wholeheartedly. The call was a dream come true. God had finally answered our prayers,” she said with excitement.
Given the power of social media, Ofentse’s teacher Ntombentle Va played a huge role in helping him get discovered by posting his video on Instagram. She told SNL24 that she was ecstatic about how everything turned out in the end.
“I’m very excited for Ofentse and thankful. The responses that we got on social media were supportive. I can’t wait to see how he’s going to seize this opportunity,” she said.
The rugby tour is operated by Blue Runnings Sport International, which helps South African school athletes partake in the Europe youth athletics circuit and championships to build a strong performance-based career as a youth athlete.
Kolisi didn’t respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.
