By OBAKENG MAJE
14 August 2025- Thabiso Kutumela has found his happy place and the satisfaction is very visible in Kampala, Uganda. Kutumela is part of the South African men’s team that is representing the country in the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in East Africa and he has already found the back of the net twice in the matches against Algeria (1-1) and Guinea (2-1) during the group stages of the tournament. He capped off his performance against Guinea with the Man of the Match award.
He said the settled environment that has been created by coach Molefi Ntseki, the technical and support staff in camp has enabled him to rediscover his love for the game and finding the back of the net.
“I’m happy for myself and for the team, we’re progressing so well, we’re on four points now as we head to another game on Friday where we need to make it seven points.
“I am happy that I can help the team to go forward here. I think when you get the chance and your confidence is going up, it means you’re getting to what you’re best at,” said Kutumela.
He further said this means you’re happy where you are, you have to accept and adapt to it, give more at every training session and score more goals, so that it becomes easier for you when you get to the game. Kutumela added that part of the challenge can be attributed to inaction and not getting regular time on the pitch in the last few weeks.
“For me personally, I did not play for a long time where I was last season. I managed to train alone by myself, but, you know, when you go to the gym, it is not like a (competitive) game.
“So, I think we were tired (against Guinea), yes. I think what made us tired was the first game (against Algeria) because it drained us,” he said.
Ntseki said the team visibly tired in the group match against Guinea on Monday and while the South Africans beat Guinea 2-1, he still wants to get them to a satisfactory level before Friday’s match against Niger.
Meanwhile, the South Africans turn their attention to Friday’s encounter against Niger and Kutumela said they will continue to work very hard and hoist the country’s flag high. The CHAN tournament is being held in East Africa in three countries – Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda – between 2-30 August 2025.
The Guardian 