Family, friends bid farewell to soccer great Moshoeu

Monday, April 27, 2015

Pretoria-Former Bafana Bafana midfielder, John “Shoes” Moshoeu was laid to rest at the Wespark Cemetery on Monday.

Family, friends, football stars and hundreds of mourners including Sport and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula and Communications Minister Faith Muthambi gathered at the Grace Bible Church in Soweto to bid farewell to Moshoeu. He died last Tuesday after losing his battle with cancer.

Shoes was part of the Bafana Bafana squad that lifted the Africa Cup of Nations trophy in 1996.

Paying tribute to the late 49-year-old Bafana Bafana star, Minister Mbalula said: “Shoes did not get an official funeral, I apologise, he deserved more than that…Shoes was an outstanding South African, and he gave his life to the nation.”

Minister Mbalula also used the platform to call for FNB stadium to be decorated with the history of the country’s football legends.

Last year at a joint memorial funeral service of Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, Senzo Meyiwa and Phindile Mwelase, Minister Mbalula said: ““Next year, we are going to construct the Hall of Fame for all the sporting athletes in South Africa.

“Each athlete who performs according to their standards will be inducted in the Hall of Fame and these athletes (Meyiwa, Mulaudzi and Mwelase) will be amongst the first to be inducted in that Hall of Fame in South Africa.

“I’ve asked Deputy Minister Gert Oosthuizen to lead this important project, before the end of next year, for the first time in South Africa; we will have a national sporting Hall of Fame for everyone in the country”.

Kaizer Chiefs boss, Kaizer Motaung said Shoes was like a son to him.

“He always treated me as a father,” he said.-SAnews.gov.za