Things have been looking up for former soccer player Junior Khanye.
Not only does he keep delighting South Africans with his soccer commentary, he's now an ambassador. But that's not the only thing making him smile nowadays.
His teeth have also been restored and he's got his smile back. Junior (35) is ecstatic. “What is happening is all miracles. It is very touching, and it is only the beginning,” Junior tells Drum.
During his tenure as a soccer player for Maritzburg United Football Club between 2008 and 2009, he had dental problems after an incident on the pitch.
“People were laughing and didn’t even know what happened led to me losing my teeth. I was hit by a ball on the mouth while playing,” Junior says. The first one came off immediately and over the years, others started falling off.
Things have turned around. In a previous interview with Drum, he opened up about how a man he didn’t really know made him start going to church and convinced him that his life would turn around. At the time, his soccer career was in tatters, he was abusing alcohol, so-called friends were gone, he had injuries, he had had countless accidents, and he was feeling hopeless. He lost everything.
Read more| I had no friends, no cars, no phones, just God, family and the gift of football: Junior Khanye
“It was a miracle. Again, someone I didn’t know just came to offer me an opportunity to get a new smile. Remember I was down and out. I was written off. People were laughing, saying I played with my talent. But you know what, I don’t regret anything. I didn’t blame anyone, I said God I am sorry, and I managed to pick myself up,” he says.
“God had a plan,” he tells us with conviction.
“I knew my restoration was going to happen. The church of Zion (ZCC) has shown me miracles. God gave me a second chance. A lot of people I used to hang around with then are dead so for Junior Khanye to be alive today is something else,” a grateful Junior says.
He symbolises what it means to rise from the ashes. It's hard for soccer players with similar stories to his to bounce back. Junior is now an ambassador for iDiski TV and he's called a soccer prophet because of his often on the dot commentary.
He does have critics but he doesn't pay any attention to negativity on his journey. “Whatever I have said is proven. I am talking about what I know and what I have lived. Second nature. Football is in my blood,” Junior explains.
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He has a soccer show on Massiv Metro and is currently writing a book that is due for release soon, he tells us.
“I also have a soccer team Faka Imali Uzobona (Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is) and I will be launching the Junior Khanye Academy. Oh! I am actor now,” he says laughing.
This after he was on season 1 of Mzansi Magic’s Vula Vala which might be returning for the second season.
“I am back on my feet. I am pushing extra. I am versatile, I am talented. I believe and I have a big heart. I don’t regret because if it didn’t happen to me, who was it supposed to happen to?”
