The Talent Calendar
Luphumlo ‘Kaka’ Sifumba scored on his senior debut with his first touch, but the lead up to that moment has been “sacrifice, discipline and hard work”. This was the response a 17 year old Luphumlo Sifumba gave when asked about his fairly short journey in football thus far. A young Man, hailing from the disadvantaged township of Philippi in Cape Town, has had to grow up quicker than most his age and keep focus whilst facing hardships on a daily basis.
He was brought into the Hellenic Football Academy after being spotted at the age of 9 by Grant Veitch, who is now the Head of Football Development at Cape Town City FC. Sifumba later caught the eye of Teko Modise when he took part in Cape Town City’s annual DreamClub 100 program. The key feature of the annual program calendar is the end of season U16 DreamClub100 Tournament, where the best aspiring amateur footballers are selected to join Cape Town City’s academy. At 15 years of age after joining City’s ranks, Sifumba became Cape Town City FC’s youngest ever player to feature in South Africa’s DStv Diski Challenge.
Luphumlo Sifumba in the DSTV Compact Cup
Sifumba then took part in the DStv Compact Cup, which is a fan selection tournament featuring 4 teams. Sifumba was selected to play for the Coastal Group 2 team, where he came off the bench to score a fantastic long range goal, helping his team to a 2-0 win against Dinaledi.
Special Player. Special talent.
City teenager Luphumlo Kaka Sifumba scores on senior debut with his first touch#MondayMotivaton #DSTVCompactCup pic.twitter.com/SaXxPx7p1u
— Cape Town City FC (@CapeTownCityFC) January 24, 2022
His talents were grabbing attention from local as well as overseas outlets as he then became the first South African footballer to sign for American sports agency RocNation Sports. His year then took another upturn as the well-respected English media outlet The Guardian published Luphumlo as part of their annual NextGen Top 60 list. A rare feat for a South African footballer.
Our first South African footballer. One of the brightest talents from across the continent.
Welcome to the family, Luphumlo ‘Kaka’ Sifumba! pic.twitter.com/R3QoGHUHrJ
— Roc Nation Sports International (@RocNationSI) June 23, 2022
His rapid progression through the ranks of the City was further solidified as he won the Midfielder of the Tournament and Player of the Tournament award at the annual Engen Champs of Champs competition after being instrumental for the Cape side and scored 2 goals in their run to the semi-finals. He received praise from City coach Byron Cottle, as the coach highlighted how determined and professional Sifumba was during training sessions and on the field.
Nicknamed ‘Kaka’ and with the talent to boot, Bafana Bafana has also come calling during this time as U-17 head coach Vela Khumalo called up the young Cape Townian player to feature in the U-17 AFCON. He managed to make the squad, but only for the tournament to be called off in Morocco due to the resurgence of the COVID19 pandemic.
Cape Town City FC coaches have hinted at him getting game time for the first team post World Cup and this comes as a natural expectation for Sifumba after his tremendous start to his career. “It’s quite a stop-start season with the World Cup, so we’re hoping to see, most likely after the World Cup, him making strides and getting minutes in the first team and developing as a footballer. He’s a very exciting player, he has an amazing passing range, an amazing level of game intelligence. “He also has special qualities to him that can change the game, be it a key pass or a goal. He’s been playing as a No. 10 in the Diski side but also can operate as a No. 8, and a few international scouts who have come down to watch him” – said Grant Veitch to KickOff earlier this year. “I think it shows the recent focus from the club on youth and in trying to fast-track these players, and highlights what we’ve got in Cape Town and in South Africa. “These players need to go abroad as soon as possible. When they are 18 years old they need to try and get to a great, next development club in Europe.”
From December 1 to 24, we introduce new players from different countries born in 2004. Area managers, users, and data scouts come into play as experts throughout the series. You can follow all those players by adding them to your TM watchlist.
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