From the South African fields to professional football

As a result of his participation in the “Soccer Clinic” organized by San Miguel in South Africa, Siphosethu Niyabo became a professional soccer player in Argentina.

Through sport, “San Miguel Soccer Clinic” provides training in social and emotional skills, money management, health and safety with the ultimate purpose of boosting the autonomy and abilities of the associates. This effort has been growing year after year to become a very popular activity throughout the Valley.

Siphosethu Niyabo was a young boy from the community of Addo, an amateur soccer player since he was 7. Being aware of his high potential, his coach and mentor in Addo, Mncedi “Elvis” Lali, decided to invite him to take part in the training of the Soccer Clinic led by the renowned Argentine coaches Cristian Castillo and Jorge Ghiso.

Sipho dazzled the Argentine coaches with his talent and discipline –both inside and outside the field– and it was there where his promising career started. With the help of the Soccer Clinic's coaches, Sipho traveled to Argentina to kick off his big dream: becoming a professional player.

Today, he is part of the lineup of the Argentine team “Atlético de Rafaela” (from Santa Fe), trains hard during the day to play the Argentine professional tournament and also reveals, “My next dream is to play for South Africa's Under-23 Soccer Team, and I believe I'm very close to achieving it.”

San Miguel is proud of being part of Sipho's history. Experiences such as his are an inspiration for children and youths in South Africa who want to work hard to make the best of themselves every day.