No positive role models, no mentorship and no education were the reasons Nazeem Isaacs, an ex-professional soccer player from Mitchell’s Plain, made the wrong choices when he was only 12 years old.
He is currently uplifting the community and players in Hanover Park with his Nazeem Isaacs Upliftment programmes. He is doing these programmes in collaboration with the NPO Youth Impact and Sustainable Solutions (YISS) in Hanover Park to help the youth not to make the same mistakes he made when he was their age.
“In my programmes I teach the youth that only Allah/God and education can take you out of your difficult circumstances. Through Allah/God I am 26 years drug-free after being on drugs for 22 years and the change in my life came when I turned to Allah/God. To be successful in life you must be God-fearing and education-driven, as your talent as a sports person is God-given,” he says.
Growing up in Hanover Park he played as a 12-year-old central midfielder for Black Birds, the soccer team of the late Bobby “Mongrel” April, also known as Ismail April, the leader of the Mongrels gang.
“In our communities many children play for teams not affiliated to local football associations, in rebel leagues, and it is easy to be pulled into gangsterism and drugs, due to poverty and other problems. I was born in District Six with a golden spoon, my family were fairly well-off, being business people. We moved to Hanover Park where as a 12-year-old I smoked my first Mandrax pipe with Bobby Mongrel, thinking that was cool. Not having role models or mentors I became addicted. At 15-years-old I went to Hartleyvale for a trial at Cape Town City, not arranged but looking for greener pastures. That is where I met with the Portugese international Eusebio, also known as the Black Panther, brought to SA by the Mobil Soccer Foundation in the apartheid era.
“Kevin Keegan and Mick Channon, English internationals, were also involved in those coaching clinics. My life changed when Pepe dos Santos took me under his wing. As a coach and mentor Dos Santos got me a job at the Heerengracht Hotel in Town, while playing for Park Villa. I was paid R150 per game and in the 80s that was a lot of money. At 17-years-old I was supposed to have a trial in Portugal with second division team Moritimor Da Funchal in Madeira. After all travelling arrangements were made I decided against going overseas due to my drug addiction. And this was an opportunity lost,” he says.
What stood out at that point in his life, was that he was not spiritually sound and not educated.
“My life spiralled out of control and I became an addict while playing for my amateur club Melchester Royals, when I was admitted to rehab facilities on three occasions. In 1989/’90 I was recruited by a Federation Professional League club Berea in Durban and played for one season, winning the Ohlsson Cup, which excluded the two Cape Town sides Battswood and Santos. While playing I relapsed and hit rock bottom and came close to death.
“I realised there was one thing I did not try and that was turning to Allah. 26 years later I am still drug-free. It is my moral duty to warn our youth/sports people that without being spiritually sound and education-driven you won’t succeed in any sport. After a professional sporting career there is life. I hope to make a difference in the lives of the youth in Hanover Park and surrounding areas,” he says.
Isaacs embarked on a mission to hand over equipment (soccer balls, bibs and beacons) to struggling clubs in Hanover Park and hosting coaching clinics to respective coaches of the five clubs. He is assisted by Roberto Stemmet of YISS trying to save lives and careers.
“Anyone who is willing to assist can contact us on our cellnumbers and can also apply for help and will go on a shortlist after an assessment is made,” he says.
- You can contact Nazeem Isaacs on 073 310 0879 and Roberto Stemmet on 066 415 3950.
