Thandani Ntshumayelo Explains How He Made His Father’s Dream Career Come True

Thandani Ntshumayelo Explains How He Made His Father’s Dream Career Come True.

Former Orlando Pirates player Thandani Ntshumayelo has explained how he helped his father to see his dream of being a medical doctor come true. Ntshumayelo revealed that when he got a contract in football, he started providing his dad with a financial assistance to study medicine.

The former Orlando Pirates midfielder made headlines in 2016 when he was banned from football after testing positive for a class A drug. He may have humiliated his family with that but they were surely proud of him for taking care of them before he was banned.

“They were disappointed but they also know that I did a lot of things that were right,” Ntshamayelo told Soccer Laduma. “I was able to help my dad and today he is a doctor. I was paying for my sister at school, looking after the family, and so on.

“When I turned pro, my dad went to school to do medicine. He is a very strong man. Someone I look up to. I  want to be a father like that to my children. He showed me you can do anything, no matter how old you are.  He was 40 when he did medicine, ” he added.

During his rough seas, his father was there to return the favour and took care of him. Ntshumayelo says being jobless taught him life lessons after all he had disappeared in just a short period of time. In a few months after a ban, among many things he lost, he had to let go of his Mercedes-Benz CLA.

His son had just been born at the time and he didn’t have the means to raise him the way he would have if he was still a professional footballer. However, he says his family and friends were supportive financially.

“For two or three months without a salary I felt it, so it was not easy. My father was helping me and some of my friends were there for me financially. I’m thankful. But some of the things I had to let go because I couldn’t pay for them. This had a big [negative] impact on my life and you must remember that when it happened, my son had just been born,” said Ntshumayelo as per the Sowetan.

“I wanted to give him better opportunities and take care of him but I couldn’t provide for him. It was one of the reasons that made me change my life. I made a mistake in my life and he was not there. I was obviously selfish and was just thinking about myself. Maybe if he wasn’t born, I would have carried on with the drugs and gave up,” said Ntshumayelo.