A former DStv Premiership star has ventured into a new industry after hanging up his boots, and is now touring his way to the financial top.
Thabiso Semenya has come a long way since playing for Barberton City Stars while at the same time balancing a job as a miner's assistant at a Barberton mine, as he revealed while speaking to Sowetan Live. It was, however, a phase that would come to an end when he joined National First Division side at the time Carara Kicks which sparked a memorable career in professional football.
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Various footballers achieve their dreams of playing professionally by taking different routes. For instance, you could get a baller who was scouted at a young age. He would then spend the majority of his youthful days representing a club's academy until he eventually breaks into the first team. This is perhaps the ideal scenario for any aspiring student of the game, or is it?
For most players that travel the aforementioned path, their entire life revolves around football from a young age so, automatically, the sport is the only thing that is on their mind which could become a problem when for them when they reach the latter stages of their career and the time to ponder about their next move after retirement draws closer. For some, it could be a daunting prospect.
However, for some, like Semenya, who experienced the world of work before or even while playing football, that process may just be a bit easier. Not only because of the exposure to a world outside of the beautiful, but also for the lessons that come with it through interacting with people who have real financial difficulties. Such lessons could serve as a guide and help with crucial life decisions.
Semenya perhaps deserve plaudits for venturing into the tourism industry and starting his own business called Kgaleke Tours, which offers a variety of services that include airport transfers, daily bookings, group travel, events travel, corporate bookings and tours around various regions. But what is so significant about his decision to venture into the tourism business?
Well, according to a report by the South African Government released earlier this year, over four million 4 million tourists visited South Africa in the first half of 2023 and the country is on its way to returning to the numbers that it boasted before the Covid-19 pandemic. The upward trends indicate that the man who represented top flight clubs such as Platinum Stars, Baroka FC, and Polokwane City where he retired in 2020 has seemingly chosen a great industry to dive into after a career in football.
It seems as though the retired defender has once found himself a gold mine. This time, however, it is figurative. His business seems to be reaching new heights. Aside from taking tourists on trips to game reserves, luxury resorts, different provinces and even countries, he recently shared on social media that Kgaleke Tours were involved in the CAF Confederations Cup group stage match between SuperSport United and Algerian side USM Alger. This could serve as an example to current footballers in the sense that whatever industry they do decide to venture in after their career, players can always use the contacts they have made while playing the beautiful game at the highest level to help boost their business.
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