The first round of the 2018 edition is done and dusted, it was a round with a lot of goals scored as the total amounted to 19 goals. The game of the week was the clash between North-West University and the University Of The Western Cape and the result was positive for the home side as they managed a 2-1 over the boys from Bellville.
It was not the result that the Salie Adams-coached side were looking for as they wanted to brush off that bad traveller’s tag, but there were a lot of positives in that clash. The one that took the limelight was seeing Emmanuel Sebareme making his debut for the Bushies. You may ask yourself, who is Emmanuel Sebareme and why was he a positive from that clash? Perhaps his name rings a bell.
The stocky-built Sebareme has participated in two sporting codes under the Varsity Sports umbrella. In January this year, he was part of the University Of The Western Cape’s team that participated in Varsity Cricket, in Potchefstroom and the Rwanda-born Sebareme bagged himself two Player of the Match awards in the tournament.
One thing that “Manny” prides himself in, is hard work and the effort that he puts in his sporting activities.
“For me, I think to have that tough background where I grew up with nothing, I always found myself having to work hard be it in class or in my teams. My parents had no money to send me to top schools, so I had to double up my effort. There were times where I had no lunch money at school but the love of sport got me through the day. My sporting abilities helped me to get bursaries and that was a huge relief for my parents as it meant I was going to get a free quality education.”
Sebarame is also a contracted member of the Western Province Cricket Union and the drought was a blessing in disguise for the sports-loving people that follow Varsity Sports, the drought meant that the cricket season in Cape Town was cancelled, and with that, it provided Sebareme an opportunity to focus on football and represent his university.
“The journey to playing Varsity Football has been great for me, I remember before the game against North-West University, coach Stanton came to me and he asked me, ‘How does it feel to be on the verge of playing Varsity Football after playing Varsity Cricket in January?’ It’s something that’s unbelievable and I’m overwhelmed by it.”
With a loss under his belt in his debut game in his maiden season in Varsity Football, Sebareme is focusing on making history as the first player to win FNB Player of The Match awards in both Varsity Cricket and Varsity Football. His side has another away trip this week to Wits University and with that bad traveller’s tag hanging on them, this is a must-win for them. Wits University won their first game beating UKZN 2-1 away from home. The Mark Haskins-led side has been beefed up for this edition with a couple of good quality signings like that of Markus Lecki who has tasted pro football at Stellenbosch FC in the National First Division, Lerotholi Manala who was in the books of Danish-based outfit Brondby and Matthew Carelse who is part of the Bidvest Wits Absa Premiership side just to name a few.
“We also have a few players in our side that have experience, we have guys from Ajax Cape Town, Cape Town City and some have played for the junior national sides. We just have to keep fighting.”
The match takes place at Wits Stadium, Johannesburg on the 2nd of August at 16:00 and will be live on SS4 & SS10.
By Dumisani Koyana
