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Sello from Soutpan now striking in Texas

24 December 2022 | Story Jóhann Thormählen | Photo Asem Engage/Hannes Naude

Come to Kovsies and go places!’ is a motto used at Kovsie Soccer, and Sello Diphoko’s journey exemplifies this. The UFS striker’s humble beginnings and rise to the United States of America is one that inspires.

Two years ago, he didn’t even play club soccer, but he was scouted by the UFS and given an opportunity that changed his life. Diphoko recently received a scholarship at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas.

Playing street football

It all started in February 2020 when he was invited to UFS soccer trials by a friend, Lwanda Ciko, who is also from Soutpan outside Bloemfontein.

“Before I came here, I was playing street football,” says Diphoko. “I have never played in a professional or semi-professional league; I came straight from the streets.” And it took Tebogo Motsamai, UFS head coach, only 25 minutes to identify his talent.

According to Godfrey Tenoff, Diphoko was attending Motheo College and gained access to the UFS through the University Preparation Programme.

“We are totally proud of Sello,” says the Head of Soccer at KovsieSport. “He is a perfect example of preparation meeting opportunity and that opportunity creating a great opportunity.”

In 2021, his Varsity Football debut year, Diphoko was crowned Player of the Tournament and received the Golden Boot award. A year later, he can barely believe it happened. “Yoh. It is huge! But it was all about the teamwork and support I got from my teammates.”

Changing students’ lives

A few South African teams wanted to sign him up, but his education was non-negotiable. A move abroad was eventually the best for Diphoko’s career – on and off the pitch.

Tenoff says the “talent identification pathway has now been paved”. The UFS understands the processes, what it is capable of, and it shows the university can equip and prepare students for international opportunities.

“It says that KovsieSport is serious about changing the lives of the students that come into our programme. It tells me that we have the will to make a way for our students. This is a small part of what is to come in KovsieSport, Kovsie Soccer, and the UFS.”

News Archive

New facility helps with better clinical training

2012-09-06

The new Authentic Learning Space at the School of Nursing allows students to practice very important skills in their state-of-the-art patient simulation rooms.
Photo: Supplied.
4 September 2012

When you visit the School of Nursing at the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS), you will be alarmed by all the casualties and patients being treated here daily.

There are patients with serious penetration wounds, as well as open and laceration wounds which could be fatal if not attended to urgently.

In one ward a child is being treated for breathing difficulties and in the emergency ward a patient who suffered a heart attack has just been rushed in.

At the end of the session students pack up their textbooks and the ‘patients’ are re-programmed and prepared for the next group of nursing students to practice their clinical skills.

The School of Nursing recently had the official opening for their Authentic Learning Space where they showcased their state-of-the-art patient simulation rooms.

In each of the many examining rooms as well as in the high-care rooms there are simulation mannequins that can be programmed for certain medical conditions or for medical emergencies.

Speaking at the opening of the Authentic Learning Space, Prof. Driekie Hay, Vice-Rector: Academic, said universities are often accused of not preparing students adequately for their careers.

“We know students learn better by interaction. With access to authentic learning spaces, students are able to gain a deeper sense of a discipline and they can begin to grasp the unwritten knowledge of practice that is often used on a daily basis.”

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