With no professional contract tying him to a club, Nedbank Ke Yona team member Jeremiah Nkwana is hopeful that a strong showing in their match against Nedbank Cup winners Supersport United will be the catalyst he needs to be spotted.
The attacking left-footed midfielder was a standout player in the 2014 and 2015 Varsity Football tournaments and built himself up as a dead-ball specialist, after scoring some sublime free-kicks in the competition.
Now, he has another chance to display his talent on 4 September.
"The hard work starts now and maybe something positive will come from it. I'm going out to perform and enjoy myself and hopefully a PSL team will allow me the chance to prove myself at that level.
"The final 18 will once again be sent to a PSL team to train with them and see if it's possible to play at that level. Seeing a player like former Kovsies defender Jarred Meyer make it into the Jomo Cosmos team, having gone through the Nedbank Ke Yona process is a positive.
"It shows that something can come from this and hopefully I get the chance to do the same. I took a chance to go to the initial Ke Yona trials at the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium and as they say, the rest is history," Nkwana said.
Nkwana represented AmaTuks in the Multi-Choice Diski Challenge last season but since AmaTuks has been relegated from the PSL, he has now only been able to train with them. He has, however, gotten plenty of game time with the National University side.
Having had the chance to work with the likes of Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba and National Under-23 coach Owen de Gama, Nkwana now has the insight on what it takes to become a top-flight footballer.
"I grew close with all the coaches involved in the Ke Yona team because they are friendly, approachable and are willing to interact with you," he added.
