In this edition of Story Behind The Nickname, former Kaizer Chiefs striker Thembinkosi Biyela lets KickOff readers in on the origins of his nickname, "Jomo".
Biyela explains how he gave himself the biggest name in South African football following his adulation for the country's football great Jomo Sono.
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Who and where did you play?
"I remember at home we used to own a football club called Zondi Black Hawks, and that's where its players would convene.
"I would take one of their balls and kick it around while busy calling myself Jomo. I'd say, 'Here's Jomo! Here's Jomo! Here's Jomo!' [mimicking a radio commentator].
"So, that's how everybody started calling me Jomo [laughs]. I was a kid then, so my father, who used to play football, loved buying me soccer boots. Most times you'd find me hanging around the Zondi Black Hawks players.
"Jomo Sono was very big back then, so it's a name I gave myself. And bear in mind, I was maybe four years old back then in 1974. And Jomo, that's the only footballer I knew back then."
Did you like it?
"He was one of the best players at the time, and the name suited me because I started as a midfielder before I became a striker. I was a very good striker of the ball.
"Another thing is, because I was fat, I grew up with the nickname. I only started losing weight when I reached high school. So, yeah, I liked it."
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Anyone that didn't use it?
"Everyone was calling me Jomo. Only people I attended school with called me by my real name, Thembinkosi."
If you could relive it, what would you want your nickname to be?
"I can't think of any nickname I could have picked. Jomo suited me just perfectly, and I fell in love with it from the word go. Jomo was a star."