Orlando Pirates starlet Relebohile Mofokeng insists he is not feeling the weight of the lofty expectations being placed on him after emerging as a teenage prodigy for the Soweto giants.
At the tender age of 19, Mofokeng is one of the players who carries weighty expectations at the Sea Robbers.
Mofokeng was recently promoted to the Bucs’ senior team towards the end of last season.
Fast forward to present day, and the exciting teenager is an integral member of the Pirates starting line-up while quickly becoming a fan favourite.
Mofokeng is a player that loads of the Bucs’ faithful now turn to for answers, to make things happen and get the South African giants out of sticky situations.
Such expectations, usually reserved for experienced soldiers, tend to weigh heavily on players and can negatively affect their performance on the field.
Beautiful finish from the teenager 🤩👇
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) March 6, 2024
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“I don’t feel any pressure,” Mofokeng said when speaking to the media during his graduation from the Premier Soccer League (PSL) and MultiChoice Player Transition Programme at Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) in Johannesburg.
“I just want to keep improving and learning. There’s no pressure at all.
“I just have to keep pushing and fighting for my team while making sure that I become a better person.
“I’m happy with the improvement so far and I feel I can still improve even more because I’m learning from the older guys,” he said.
Since making the step up from the Pirates’ junior teams, the Safa School of Excellence product has seen his life change drastically.
Playing for a club such as Pirates comes with a celebrity status and the Vaal-born star is still having problems dealing with that.
“I grew up in the streets where people used to kill each other, so that made me afraid to play on the streets. And now that my name is known by many people, I can say I’m a bit famous, but I’m scared of people.”
Apart from football, Mofokeng hopes to carve a path as a businessman and reckons the Player Transition Programme will come in handy in chasing the dream.
Orlando Pirates attacker Relebohile Mofokeng happy with his progress.
— Mahlatse Mphahlele (@BraMahlatse) March 21, 2024
Interview ➡️ ➡️https://t.co/TPoJQZgVj9 pic.twitter.com/SF7IM4IBzr
