CAPE TOWN; South Africa —
Ephraim Matsilele Jomo Sono has been hailed by many as the greatest footballer ever to emerge out of South Africa.
Born on July 17, 1955, in Soweto, South Africa, the soccer icon is famously known as Jomo Sono, who from the 1970s till the early 1990s, would turn both the South African and North American football world’s around as a deadly striker and attacking midfielder.
By the time Jomo stopped playing professional football he had scored more than 100 goals in all the different countries he had shined in.
When Jomo was eight years old, when his father Eric Bhamuza Sono, who was a midfielder and captain of Orlando Pirates Football Club in the early 1960s, died as a result of a car crash.
And soon after, Jomo was abandoned by his mother.
Although they would later meet again when Jomo was 34, thanks to a newspaper article.
As a result, Jomo was left in the care of his ailing grandparents.
As they were very poor, Jomo had to resort to selling apples and peanuts at football games and train stations to clothe himself, buy food for his grandparents and pay for his school fees.
Both his grandparents were from the then Northern Transvaal at Valdezia village outside Makhado, now Limpopo Province.
And as fate would have it, Jomo’s football career would have an unusual beginning.
During a match that he attended one of the Orlando Pirates’ regular players was absent and Jomo was requested to stand in for him.
Jomo, would soon gain fame for his all-round ability, dribbling and accurate passing skills.
It was during this time that he was given the nickname of Jomo (which means “burning spear”) by an Orlando Pirates fan, who saw in him the same leadership qualities as those of Jomo Kenyatta, the then president of Kenya.
He has been variously nicknamed the “Black Prince of South African Soccer”, “Bra J” and “Mjomana”.
After he had accomplished what he had set out to do at Orlando Pirates, Jomo went to the United States of America, where, in 1977, he played for the New York Cosmos.
At New York Cosmos, Jomo had the honour of with high-profile players, with some of his team-mates being the legendary Brazilian star Pelé and German stalwart, Franz Beckenbauer, to name a few.
In 1978, Jomo moved to the Colorado Caribous.
And at the end of the season, Jomo moved to the Atlanta Chiefs where he played with a fellow South African footballer, Patrick “Ace” Ntsoelengoe.
Jomo completed his stint in America playing for the Toronto Blizzard in Canada.
In Canada, Jomo played three summers, 1980 through 1982.
Jomo also taught and gave demonstrations at Clemson University Soccer Camp for youths.
Jomo also spent time with Portuguese club Sporting CP and Italian club Juventus, but was unable to obtain work permits for permanent contracts.
He just barely missed out on joining Italian giants Torino, due to a serious injury.
In 1976, South Africa played an away friendly match against Argentina.
South Africa won the game 6-0 . Mr. Sono had scored four of those goals.
In 1980, Jomo was selected for the World 11.
He also played for the Black World 11.
After his football career in North America ended, Jomo returned to South Africa, where he purchased the status of Highlands Park in Johannesburg in 1982, first renaming it Dion Cosmos, and in 1983 naming it, Jomo Cosmos in honour of his American team.
Under his ownership, Cosmos went on to achieve several successes: it won the National Soccer League in 1987, the Bobsave Super Bowl in 1990, the Cola Cola Cup in 2002 and the Super Eight in 2003.
From the 1970s, while playing for Orlando Pirates, Jomo had won numerous trophies and leagues with Pirates.
He became the ‘Player of the Year’ numerous times including inthe late 80s when he played for his club Jomo Cosmos.
Jomo is also well known for having taken a leading role in discovering and developing new football talent.
Some of the players whom Sono recruited and then went on to play for the South African national team and European clubs include Philemon Masinga, Helman Mkhalele, Sizwe Motaung, Mark Fish, Thomas Madigage among others.
No doubt, his recruits formed the core of the South African squad that won the 1996 African Nations Cup; which Jomo was also a technical advisor to the team’s head coach Clive Barker during the tournament.
In 1998, Jomo was appointed as caretaker coach of Bafana Bafana just before the African Nations Cup tournament in Burkina Faso in the place of Clive Barker, who had been prematurely sacked just before the event.
But Jomo, with a short time to prepare, the team reached the final of the tournament, where they lost to Egypt.
After a disappointing performance by the South African national squad during the 2002 African Nations Cup in Mali, Jomo was again appointed a technical director to the team.
However, the head coach of the team at that time, Carlos Queiróz, due to disagreements with the SA Football Association, did not finish his contract.
Jomo was again appointed as caretaker coach, this time for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan.
During the World Cup, the South African squad did not progress beyond the first round. But, they did score five goals and achieved one win, one draw and a 3–2 loss against pre-tournament favourites Spain.
Bafana Bafana captain, Lucas Radebe, credited Jomo with much of the team’s performance, saying that he had instilled a good spirit within the team and that he had ensured a very positive atmosphere among the squad.
Jomo also sits on the board of the Premier Soccer League.
Jomo Sono has also built up a reputation as a successful businessman; in addition to making a substantial profit by developing players and selling them to European teams.
Jomo also owns a number of businesses and is a chairman of numerous companies.
He opened the first KFC franchise in Soweto in the early 1980s, a first for South African townships.
In the 80s, PUMA produced the King Jomo Sono soccer boots, in honour of Jomo Sono.
Jomo has won numerous awards and accolades during his life as a player, coach, football administrator and as a businessman.
In December 2016, Jomo received two doctorates from the University of London and the University of Dubai for his contribution to football and business.
Upon receiving the two doctorates he said: “To me this is the greatest achievement. People say it’s from outside [the doctorates], I don’t think it’s from outside. I think it’s from the world because the University of London is one of the biggest and the commonwealth university is one of the biggest.”
Jomo Sono remains a blessings, to not only football, but South Africa as whole, legend of the game as a player, coach, commentor, mentor, a businessman of note and a community builder.
Photo by Soka54.com
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