Platinum Stars captain Vuyo Mere is already planning for life after playing professional football, with the experienced player having recently equipped himself with a qualification in Sports Management.
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Mere, who will be turning 33 years old on Sunday, has been studying Sports Management through Eta College. Speaking exclusively to the Siya crew, the former Mamelodi Sundowns player confirmed that he has successfully completed the course with the private sports college.
"I enrolled with Eta College and I was studying Sports Management. It was a two-year course, which I finished last year. I was only waiting for my results, which I have recently received. I did well," said Mere.
Despite the busy schedule and the demands of professional football, as well as being a family man, Mere still managed to get himself equipped with other skills, which can be a lesson to other soccer players and young people in Mzansi in general.
"Truly speaking, it wasn't easy. Most of the time I had to travel with my books when we went to camp. I had to make time for my studies because it was important for me to get a backup for myself for after I finish playing. I don't know what's going to happen in the future. It can be very difficult out there. I needed to equip myself with something. Most of the time, we soccer players only train for two hours a day. After those two hours, we spend the whole day doing nothing. So I decided to make use of the time. I managed to reshuffle my schedule to fit in time for studies," explained Mere.
Mere expressed his sincere gratitude to the South African Football Players Union (SAFPU) for their contribution to helping him achieve his life goals.
"There is a bursary for all the soccer players that are registered with the players union. They (SAFPU) give you a chance to study whatever course you want to study and they pay for everything on your behalf. You don't have to pay a cent. I want to encourage wonke amajita (all the guys) within our industry Skhokho sam (my man) to make use of the opportunity because such chances are scarce. They can speak to the relevant people that can advise them on how to go about all the processes. I don't think such opportunities were available to former players. As the current generation of players, we are fortunate to have such opportunities.
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"With my qualification I can get into many fields including events management and marketing. I can be a coach or a physical trainer. Having said that, I'm not going to stop studying as I am planning to equip myself more. I don't want to leave soccer. It's my passion. I've been doing this my whole life. I'm not saying I want to be a coach, but I'm saying I'd love to get anywhere I can get involved within the soccer fraternity so that I can give back to the game," concluded Mere.
