Mpofu recalls early end to his career

Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
MBULELO “eMKlass” Mpofu vividly recalls the day he prematurely called quits, his football playing career after suffering an injury while representing his school in 2009.

He was only 15 when the horrific incident took place.

Eleven years later, his friend and former teammate at junior level Xolani Ndlovu is now a national team player and first choice left-back at Chicken Inn FC.

While Mpofu admits that being forced to quit at such a young age may have been ill-advised, he feels he did not get enough support after his traumatic experience to return to the game.

Instead the injury made him concentrate on academic work, but he still feels he has something to offer to football through his project eMklass Speaks.

The project does not only seek to share his experiences with upcoming talented players, but also to uplift them.

eMKlass Speaks aslo offers an interactive blog, which targets football and entertainment fanatics.

The blog profiles sports and entertainment personalities with a story to tell, with the goal being to provide information to fans.

“Growing up, my dream was to play football at the highest level, but that dream was cut short in 2009 when I suffered a devastating hernia injury to my right wrist. I remember it was a match between my school Lobengula High School against Njube High School. There was a collision and l had a nasty landing that broke my wrist and that was it,” said Mpofu.

“I feared playing again and that was the end of my stint with Iminyela Wanderers where l was playing junior football. In as much as this was the death of a dream, it also marked the birth of another. If I could not play football, I would have to analyse it or at least write articles about it and that’s how eMKlass Speaks was born. It was established out of a necessity to be part of football by all means.”

Since its inception in 2019, Mpofu said the blog has covered profiles for elite athletes, who include Lucky “Killa” Ndlela (Bulawayo Chiefs Football Club midfielder) and Praise Smyth (fitness trainer).

“Locally I am inspired by football pundits such as Barry Manandi, Mike Madoda, Marc Pozzo, Charles “CNN” Mabika and Steve Vickers. Internationally that would be Phil Kirkbride and Michael Ball of the Liverpool Echo,” said Mpofu.

Part of his literary endeavours include being co-founder and head content creator of the Wheel Magazine and Campus Moments website.

The Covid-19 enforced lockdown has had a negative impact on his work.

“The pandemic has adversely affected my work since there is basically nothing to write about when it comes to local football,” he said. – @innocentskizoe.