Exclusive | Lucas Radebe on Bafana Bafana, family life and SAFA presidency
After the school bell rang in Diepkloof, Soweto, a little Lucas Radebe did not immediately go home.
Instead, the then six-year-old went to play football with some of his friends in the township during the dark days of apartheid.
Now, five decades later, Lucas Radebe can hardly believe he went on to captain both SA’s national team at the FIFA World Cup in 1998 and 2002, as well as Leeds United in the English Premier League.
“That is where it all started,” Radebe, 56, told IOL on Wednesday.
“Playing in the township sharpened my skills.
“You learn to play in short, narrow spaces, and my friends and I were just enjoying ourselves, honestly.”
In the townships during apartheid, violence was part of daily life, and opportunities were limited.
Football gave many young people something to hold on to.
For Radebe, his relationship with the game was formed on dusty fields where structure was scarce, and temptation was everywhere.
Diepkloof Wolf Wanderers was one of the places where he found direction.
It was there that Radebe learned discipline before fame and responsibility before recognition.
Looking back, there is gratitude in his reflections and an understanding that those township clubs helped shape the person he became.
After his time at Wolf Wanderers, Radebe moved to ICL Birds between 1987 and 1988. He then joined the Kaizer Chiefs juniors before making his senior debut for Kaizer Chiefs in 1989.
Radebe went on to become an icon and captain at Leeds United between 1994 and 2005, and later captained the SA national team, Bafana Bafana, at the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.
“We realised the importance of participating in and representing our country.
“Hosting and inviting the whole continent to come and celebrate with us, the reconstruction of the newly formed SA, was, for me, the start of great things.
“It was about seeing South Africa develop into a powerhouse in African football and being able to produce individuals who competed abroad and put South Africa on the map,” he added.
“With the likes of Madiba being there, we were so proud to be able to participate and actually win the trophy.”
As the years passed, Radebe and his peers came to understand another reality — one that carried pride, but also quiet pain.
Talent had never been the problem; timing and opportunity had been.
He speaks of players like Ace Ndini and Gilliam Connors with admiration, men whose careers might have gone further had circumstances been different, or had the system been ready earlier.
Giving back has always been important to Radebe. It sits at the centre of how he understands his own journey. Football shaped not only his career, but his identity.
When he speaks about the national team, there is a strong sense of service. Wearing the colours of South Africa for so many years, and earning accolades along the way, came with responsibility. Each appearance carried the weight of representing more than himself.
There is also a calm acceptance in how Radebe views the present. He believes life moves in seasons and that change is something to embrace. Being recognised now, after everything he has given, left him genuinely flattered.
“Football made me who I am because it shaped the person I am today, and I’m seen not just as a footballer but as a role model, as an icon.
“Behind the footballer is the person, and the growth I’ve gained from the game has allowed me to pass that on to young stars, to be an example of how such a short career can become an opportunity for greater things,” he said.
Radebe believes the current Bafana Bafana set-up has helped restore belief.
He credits head coach Hugo Broos, supported by Helman and the technical team, for bringing players together and rebuilding confidence among supporters.
For the first time in a long while, he feels hope returning.
“We’ve seen that we have the talent and the depth, if the structure is properly set, to get back to those days where we can bring the silverware back home.”
For Radebe, football discussions have always gone beyond the field.
He speaks as a former player, but also as a man shaped by the demands of the game and the personal costs that came with it.
“As a footballer, you’re a human being. You grow up to become a responsible adult, a family man, which I think deserves great respect.
“Footballers who take that leap to become responsible fathers face a very difficult challenge because of the balance required.
“There’s a lot of sacrifice in terms of time spent with family and giving the family what is needed. But you try your best to make sure the kids grow up with a present father,” Radebe said.
He points to the steady presence in his life that helped keep everything balanced — his wife.
While much of a footballer’s life happens in the public eye, he knows that stability at home is built quietly, through patience and shared sacrifice.
“At the moment, I make sure I spend as much time as possible with my family, especially after a long career where I lost a lot of time with them.
“I never saw some of my kids grow or develop their personalities.
“Now is the time to give more time to family than anything else and make sure the kids grow up appreciating and being an example.”
In recent years, Radebe’s name has surfaced in discussions about the future leadership of South African football, including calls for him to consider a role at the highest level, even the SAFA presidency.
“I was really flattered to hear that. It meant they must have seen the value of what has come out of my career, or what I’ve done, to measure me at this stage.”
Radebe ends with a smile, offering a picture that feels familiar and easy to understand.
“If Bafana Bafana were a person at a braai, they would be me, and they’d have all sorts of meat on the grill,” he said, laughing.
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