By Ahmad Muto
According to former Uganda Cranes goalkeeper Denis Onyango, he owes his success as a footballer to his mother who supported his career right from child, at a time his father did not warm up to it.
He said his father got to a point he considered not paying his school fees because he loved football more than attending classes where he was not doing well.
“First of all, I would love to thank my mum because she was there. She was very supportive of me even when I was very young. Some would say I am lying, but dad did not want to pay for my school fees because I was this boy who loved to play football and would go out of school at 11 or 12:00pm to the pitch to play. I was not the smartest in class,” he said while being hosted by agripreneur, Robert Kabushenga on his weekly Twitter Space on Friday, (November 5).
However, he noted that with his mother constantly convincing his father to let him play, arguing he had no idea what the future held, he came around and started supporting him. When local football side SC Villa tried to frustrate his move to Ethiopia, it was his father who put up a successful fight.
“Eventually he came to my side and agreed I play football. In my fight with SC Villa before I left to go to Ethiopia, and the club did not want me to go, my dad was able to put up a fight with them to let me go and pursue my career. He had seen the talent, but it was not easy for him to believe in me. He wanted me to become what he wanted, perhaps a doctor,” he explained.
Last week, Onyango was the talk in sports circles, particularly football after he saved five penalties for his professional side, South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns to win the MTN8 competition in front of over 2,000 spectators. His side took home sh1.9b while he took sh1.9m as Man of the match.
334
