‘They beat me so I would play’
Being born as the fifth child in a family of eight kids to poor parents meant Alec Mokgokgoana Bapela was faced with the true definition of poverty from his first breath, so much so that he became accustomed to hardships.
Just like many kids in Zebediela in Limpopo, Bapela had to put up with a myriad of challenges, which included walking 10km to get to school, spending the day without eating and trekking back on foot again in the afternoon. This was the life he knew.
“We were living below the breadline. My dad worked piece jobs in the Gauteng mines so you would be lucky to go to school with one cent in your pocket. Remember, we went to school from 08h00 to 16h00 and at lunch time you just had to watch others,” recalls Bapela, who reveals how his name was changed on his first day at school.
“I was born Alec but when I got to school the principal told my mom that she doesn’t know English so changed my name to Alex and that then became my name,” he discloses.
Rather fascinating is that Bapela was a tennikoit, also called ring tennis, player and never fancied football until his Matric year in 1988 when he landed in the books of OK League club (second tier league). He turned 19 that year.
“I was forced to play football at school
