Raymond Mdaka receives heroes’ welcome in Tzaneen

AFCON U/20 winning coach Raymond Mdaka received a hero’s welcome from the Greater Tzaneen Municipality with a parade led by Mayor Gerson Molapisane on Thursday.

The parade began at the Tzaneen Show Grounds and made its way to the bustling Tzaneen Taxi Rank before reaching the main streets in town.

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Mdaka, born in Mokgwathi within the Greater Tzaneen Municipality, Limpopo, is the only coach to lead South Africa to an AFCON U/20 Triumph.

“I am very humbled, honestly. Like I said, to be appreciated and acknowledged when you are still alive means a lot to me,” Mdaka told journalists.

“Especially by your own people. I am humbled to be honest. At the same time, I always say it’s a motivation to others to say, it’s possible.

“So, wherever you are in different sporting codes, as long as you are focused and committed, things can happen, even more than what you can see today,” he added.

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Meanwhile, Mdaka also commented on the issue of his salary, which has now become a public debate.

“You know, I suppose you need to have that heart of accepting some of the things, more especially if they are not in your hands,” he said.

“You cannot stop people from talking as much as how they speak to you, others it might be quite disturbing, others might be pleading with you and all these other things.

“But these are the things that we don’t normally focus on. We just allow it as it is and nature will sort it out.”