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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

Chemistry postgraduates tackle crystallography with eminent international researcher

2017-04-04

Department of Chemistry senior lecturer, Dr Alice Brink(left),
hosted outstanding researcher, Prof Elspeth Garman (right)
from the University of Oxford in England to present a
crystallography lecture.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin

“Crystallography forms part of everyday life.” This is according to Prof Elspeth Garman, eminent researcher from the Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford in England, who was hosted by Dr Alice Brink, Department of Chemistry at the University of the Free State (UFS) Bloemfontein Campus. Prof Garman presented a lecture in the Department of Chemistry, titled ‘104 years of crystallography: What has it taught us and where will it lead’. She also taught the postgraduate students how to refine and mount protein structures in cold cryo conditions at about -173°C.

What is Crystallography?
Crystallography is the scientific technique which allows for the position of atoms to be determined in any matter which is crystalline.

“You cannot complete Protein Crystallography without the five key steps, namely obtaining a pure protein, growing the crystal, collecting the data, and finally determining the structure and atomic coordinates,” said Prof Garman. Apart from teaching, she was also here to mentor and have discussions with UFS Prestige Scholars on how to face academic challenges in the professional environment.

Discovery of the first crystal structure of a TB protein
Prof Garman successfully determined the first crystal structure of a Tuberculosis protein (TBNAT), a project that took about 15 years of research. In partnership with the Department of Pharmacology at Oxford University and an outstanding PhD student, Areej Abuhammad, they managed to grow only one TBNAT crystal, one-fiftieth of a millimetre. They also managed to solve the structure and publish it.

Dr Alice Brink, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry, says, “It’s an incredible privilege to have Prof Garman here and to have her share her wisdom and knowledge so freely with the young academics.”

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