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Retired Moroka Swallows midfielder Maimane Alfred Phiri is proving that life after professional football can still be rewarding.
The 1998 Fifa World Cup Bafana squad member is still an active member of the soccer fraternity through his annual amateur-soccer tournament.
The Maimane Alfred Phiri Games (or MAP Games, as they are known in his home town of Alexandra) remain close to Phiri’s heart 15 years since the event was established.
This is how the 40-year-old continues to plough back into his community, where he commands respect and remains a popular figure among his peers.
Phiri said this year’s event would focus on promoting unity as Alex was reeling from the recent spate of xenophobic violence.
It is poignant that Phiri has a team from Mozambique participating – the home country of Emmanuel Sithole, who was murdered during a xenophobic attack and whose death highlighted the brutality of such attacks.
“Soccer changed my life for the better as I was able to provide for my parents, my kids and myself.
“I am happy that I am able to contribute positively to society through my tournament,” he said.
Phiri also runs a shisa nyama (buy-and-braai outlet) and a liquor-trading business in Alex.
“I come from a humble family. I managed to save the little money that I earned during my playing days for life after soccer. I never had friends with bad influences during my playing career,” he explained.
The late midfielders John “Shoes” Moshoeu and Isaac “Shakes” Kungwane were among Phiri’s closest friends and staunch patrons of the MAP Games.
“I looked up to them and it is still hard to accept that they are gone.
“Shakes gave me my first pair of soccer boots in the pro ranks and I built a solid relationship with Shoes when we were playing in Turkey,” he noted.
Phiri retired from competitive football in 2009 at the age of 32. By then, he had already built a soccer career that spanned 13 seasons, eight of which were spent in Turkey, after he was lured by Gençlerbirligi in 1996.
He has earned 13 Bafana caps and played for Jomo Cosmos, Ajax Cape Town, Moroka Swallows and SuperSport United.
Ngubo, as Phiri is known to his peers, said the MAP Games were the highlight of his life.
“It is not only about football. We have a partnership with Boston College, which gives away bursaries worth R200 000 to underprivileged kids,” he added.
Phiri proudly noted that the MAP Games had grown into an event the locals now refer to as the World Cup of Alexandra.
“We have 132 teams – 32 senior, 84 junior and 16 ladies teams.
“The junior final is on June 16, while the senior event will run from June 20 until July 12,” he said.
According to Phiri, the amateur tournament has received strong backing from big companies.
“I want to see more youth academies participate in the junior competition so that it can measure the level of talent we have in Alex.
“During my time in the Premiership, Alex had around 10 players in the elite ranks, but the number has gone down to three,” he said.
This trio comprises the Orlando Pirates duo of Patrick Phungwayo and Mpho Makola, as well as SuperSport United’s Lebogang Manyama – all of whom came up the ranks through the MAP Games.
Follow Phiri’s tournament on Twitter @MAP_Games2015
