Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

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

UFS presents colloquium on the law of delict

2008-03-06

The Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently presented a unique debate on the law of delict on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein. The colloquium was attended by six current and two retired judges of the Supreme Court of Appeal, including Justice Craig Howie, President of the Supreme Court of Appeal, as well as two judges from the Free State provincial division. Twelve of the most prominent academics and authors on the law of delict from across the country, members of the Free State Bar, as well as staff from the faculty were present. Arguments centred on the element wrongfulness and how it should be determined as well as how it differs from fault and more specifically negligence. Unfortunately no unanimity about how judgments of the Supreme Court of Appeal on how this issue should be interpreted could be reached. Attendees however agreed that this was a useful debate that served to highlight the importance of this issue and they expressed their appreciation for the opportunity. As far as could be ascertained, this was the first time that a debate regarding the law of delict took place on this level. At the colloquium were, from the left: Prof. Johann Neethling (speaker at the colloquium and author on the law of delict, Unisa), Prof. Rita-Marié Jansen (Department of Private Law at the UFS and organiser of the colloquium), Prof. Johan Potgieter (author on the law delict, Unisa), Appeal Judge Craig Howie (President of the Supreme Court of Appeal), and Judge Mojalefa Rampai (Free State Provincial Division of the Supreme Court).
Photo: Supplied

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept