An 11-year-old boy from Factreton is well on his way to achieving his dream of playing baseball internationally.
Zubair Moosa has been selected to represent South Africa in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) u-12 Baseball World Cup in Taiwan next month.
But Moosa needs about R25 000 to get him to Taiwan and his mother and baseball club are calling for assistance.
Moosa says he started showing an interest in the sport at the age of eight.
“I started playing baseball because my cousin told me about it. It is the first sport I started playing. Now I love it.”
He explains that he enjoys playing for his club, Maitland Giants Baseball.
The young boy’s hard work and dedication paid off, seeing him being selected for a national baseball championship in March 2020 where he participated under the auspices of Western Cape Baseball Federation.
At the championship, players were elected to represent SA at the World Cup.
Carolyn Inglis, executive committee member of the Maitland Giants Baseball Club, says Moosa has played for their club for the past three years.
She explains that he started as a T-baller and is now playing in their u-12 baseball team.
Monday 13 June 2022 will always be a memorable day on the calendar for Moosa. This was the day Moosa was informed that he was selected to represent the country at the World Cup.
Moosa says the news still feels surreal.
“I feel like I can burst from excitement. This will be my first time travelling. I feel excited because I just want to explore the world, make my country proud.”
Moosa says while he is elated the hard work starts now.
“We want to win the World Cup; that will be a dream come true. I just want to help my team get to another level. We are practising hard on our batting skills and we do fitness training and working on our fielding skills.”
The Sunderland Primary School learner also shares an encouraging message with his peers.
“Keep away from danger, keep yourself busy. Never be like the gangsters that we see around us. Follow your heart and your passion.”
Inglis says as a team they are elated about Moosa’s achievement.
“This is a huge achievement for him as an athlete, and for us as a club it’s equally an achievement because it says that the club is doing something well to be able to nurture our players at a specific level of baseball.”
Inglis says his coaches played a huge role in helping him get this far.
“I want to give thanks to his three coaches; he has been fortunate to have three different coaches over the three-year period. I want to give thanks to the late Jenna Moses, Johannes Stuurman and Altino Elliot.”
Edward Rabie, principal of Sunderland primary, says as a school they support Moosa and are proud of his achievement.
“We are super proud of him. Sport is a means whereby learners can excel. Irrespective of your circumstances and where you come from, you can still achieve if you have the will for it and this has been proven. Zubair does well academically too, we see a bright future for him.”
Moosa’s mom Waseema says her son is a “quiet boy” but comes alive when he is on the field.
Waseema says hearing that her son was selected was an emotional experience.
“When I heard the news that he first made it to the Western Province team and then made the South African team, I couldn’t stop crying because I was so proud of him. I am very proud because we come from an area where there’s a lot of violence, he is the first member in our family that has made us so proud.”
But the mother says raising the funds has been a challenge.
“The club is raising funds for him and as a family we are also doing that. I am selling boerewors rolls each Friday. We are calling on more people to please support us.”
The team will be jetting off to Taiwan on Friday 22 July.
- To help Moosa reach his target email Carolyn@ps4l.org.za or call 083 286 7199.
