Richard Moremi (UP-Tuks) can rightfully claim to be one of the stalwarts of the Varsity Football Tournament, having played in all five tournaments since 2013.
The left winger whose quick thinking and quick feet have helped him sail around countless defenders guesses that he might have missed out on only a handful of Varsity Football-games.
Moremi was part of the 2013 and 2014 victorious UP-Tuks teams.
In spite of having the bragging rights to say – “been there, done that and got the T-shirt to prove it” – Moremi is still as passionate about playing for UP-Tuks as the first time he pulled the “striped jersey” over his shoulders.
In their first Varsity Football match, last Thursday UP-Tuks played to a 1-1 draw against TUT.
Moremi does not consider the result as a surprise.
“Somehow we are always off to a slow start in the Varsity Football Tournament but I am confident that we will get better the more we play. It has to happen for us because we are putting in the hard work in training and everyone has the same goal, and that is to make Tuks proud.”
Tomorrow (3 August 2017) UP-Tuks will play the University of Johannesburg (UJ) at TuksStadium. According to Moremi, it is going to be a tough game.
“Playing UJ is never easy now it is going to be even more difficult as they lost their first game to the CentralUniversity of Technology. A team that comes back from a loss is a very dangerous.”
Moremi said football was always the only sport for him. He has been playing footall ever since he can remember. He credits Thierry Henry, the former Arsenal player as the one who cemented his love for the game.
Locally he is an avid admirer of the football skills of Thuso Pola (SuperSport United) although he supports Kaizer Chiefs.
“I love watching Thuso play as he brings something magical to the game.”
From the moment Moremi’s foot first made contact with a football he has scored his fair share of goals. But the goal that had possibly changed everything for him was the one he scored while still at high school against Swallows. He netted the ball from near the centre line. That led to him being scouted by Tuks.
“I honestly believe a big part of TuksFootball’s success is their ability to scout talented young players and then get them to play as a team.”
Although soccer is a true passion for Moremi, he is also a realist who realised that he needed something to fall back on if his football career never went as planned so he decided to get an education at the University of Pretoria. He is now busy with honours degree in Construction Management.
“I grew up in a football environment, so I believe I am the person that I am because of football. In terms of hard work I have put as much hard work into my studies as I do on the field, so football has taught me a life-long lesson.”
Virtual Campus
Get Social With Us
Download the UP Mobile App