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FOR Khama Billiat, life has come full circle.
He is back home where it all started, back in Waterfalls where the Aces Youth Soccer Academy is based and back in Harare where he took his first baby steps as a footballer.
But, it’s easy to forget that he might never have been discovered if a groundsman at his primary school had not caught him juggling a tennis ball in 1999.
Arifa Sumani, who doubled as a coach at Gwinyiro Primary School in Harare, was busy with his grounds-keeping when he saw eight-year-old Billiat with the fluorescent yellow ball at his feet.
The would-be superstar was only in Grade Three.
But, he looked like he had the making of a star and it’s no surprise that Billiat went on to sparkle in his decade-long career in the South African PSL, winning almost every prize on offer.
He won three Premier Soccer League titles with Mamelodi Sundowns, the Nedbank Cup, Telkom Knockout, a CAF Champions League and a CAF Super Cup.
Thousands have come to watch him lift those trophies, knowing the role his magic feet played in the acquisition of that silverware.
Something about the lad charmed Sumani to cast his demanding work aside briefly just to gaze at the kid.
With his tiny feet, the boy juggled a 2.70-inch ball meant to be smacked with a tennis racket with the poise and technique of a seasoned professional.
He caressed it, taming an object that would have run wild on the feet of someone older than him.
On that fine day in 1999, Sumani had just stumbled upon Harare’s best-kept secret.
“Billiat was a tiny, tiny boy but very talented. I remember the first day I saw him as he juggled a tennis ball during break time.
“His technique and composure were shocking. I engaged him instantly, and the next thing he was playing in our school’s first team,” Sumani told Sunday Mail.
At that age, it was undeniable that the boy was something special.
He was already a first-team key player by the time he was 10. — Sports Reporter/FARPost.
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