Mduduzi Shabalala’s childhood came at a cost for his mother as he negotiated his way through all primary school years prior to becoming a Kaizer Chiefs star.
Shabalala is now into his third full season in the first team at Chiefs.
READ | Ribeiro stars as Sundowns sink Magesi
Throughout that time, he has been able to play 77 first team matches for Amakhosi and now has a Nedbank Cup winners’ medal.
Yet, before all the glitz and glamour, he was just another township boy.
"We bought him so many shoes.
"But there were always holes in them.
"That’s how we knew — wherever he was, he was playing football.
"That’s where it all began," notes Shabalala’s mother during a Carling Black Label’s Champion Moms initiative, which also had Orlando Pirates midfielder Thalente Mbatha’s mother talking about her son.
READ | No return in sight for Chiefs striker
"When they asked me what I would name him, I just said Thalente.
"I don’t know why.
"I think it was my way of manifesting that he would be talented," she said.
