The 23-year-old Otshepeng Seemise, who is currently a law student at the University of the Witwatersrand( Wits), and also a football scout for England based Birmingham City FC, hopes to groom young talent in Hammanskraal.
He was born and breed in Hammanskraal ( extension 1 unit D) and attended Hoerskool Langenhoven High School in Pretoria matriculating in 2014.
He did his first qualification in the United Kingdom ( UK) in 2017 with the Professional Football Scouts Association (PFSA) which was the level 1 in football scouting.
He then did a couple of reports for teams in Sweden and Turkey who play in the lower leagues. Last year he got his level 2 in talent identification.
He said he got a qualification in the UK because talent identification is becoming increasingly more important in English football. Teams like Manchester United and Chelsea have a network of 100 talent identification scouts around the world.
“So it was important to do the qualification in the UK so that I get the knowledge that is passed down to management, coaches, intermediaries and of course academy staff who attend the course,” he said.
Mr Seemise also said that he sometimes attend football matches in Hammanskraal to identify young talent unidentified.
” I have attended 10 games in Hammanskraal alone this year. The more games I attend, the better the players I get. I have spoken to coaches and I discovered that there is a lot of knowledge at different levels and different age groups. I never close the door on anyone, players can have bad days and I go back to watch them.
“My goal thus far is hopefully to get players to European academies.”
He said he is watching players and he wants to find that special talent in Hammanskraal and get them playing at the highest level. He is currently scouting in Pretoria and that it will take a lot of games.
He also encourages youth to follow their dream and never to give up.
” The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. If the players want to play at the highest stage, they should focus on that. I am attending games and they will be scouted and given a chance to prove themselves.
“But they won’t know that I am there because that might take away their focus. I can’t be seen too much,” he said.
