Jabu Mahlangu opens up on alcohol
10 September 2015
Former soccer star Jabu Mahlangu says alcohol abuse taught him a lesson he will never forget.
Mahlangu was speaking at a Women’s Dialogue on the Effects of Alcohol and Drug Abuse at the Hope Family Centre in Chiawelo, Soweto, at the weekend.
The event, organised by the Association for Responsible Alcohol Use (ARAU) in partnership with the City of Johannesburg, was attended by Members of Parliament, City officials, local councillors, ANC members, students, and members of youth formations, church groups and the local community. In a moving speech, the former Kaizer Chiefs, Supersport United and Orlando Pirates midfield wizard said he was raised by parents who both abused alcohol.
“My parents drank alcohol from morning till sunset, every day. It was unavoidable that I would end up doing the same,” said Mahlangu, who said he was eight years old when he first tasted the unholy waters. He said when he started playing soccer he was already a hardened alcohol abuser.
“I couldn’t finish a day without drinking. I drank before and after every match. Because I would end up being voted ‘Man of The Match’, I saw nothing wrong with drinking,” said Mahlangu, who fell from grace and attracted such names as "Ngwana wa Tshwenya" and "Enfant Terrible". "I once had the world in my hands but wrong lifestyle choices, bad friends and alcohol abuse saw all that slip through my fingers.
“Soccer gave me fame and fortune. I had money, friends, women, cars and houses. I could afford anything. I drove latest German made cars. My address was in the northern suburbs – in Rivonia. I played for top soccer clubs in the country. I played for the national soccer team and I played overseas. But all that was gone in a flash. Banks repossessed my cars and my home,” he said.
In a speech that drew tears among some of those in attendance, Mahlangu said when all his fortune was gone, he retreated to the township and lived with his wife, Twana, and three children – at his in-laws.
“Alcohol abuse reduced me to a disgraceful nobody. My friends disappeared. I was broke. I was a pedestrian. For two years I could hardly buy myself underwear. I had no bank account,” he recounted. He said his wife stood by him and introduced him to God and the church.
Today Mahlangu has been given a second chance. He is a TV soccer analyst, a brand ambassador for Engen and a motivational speaker for a non-governmental organisation. Looking back at his life, he advises the youth against drugs and alcohol abuse. He said he was lucky to have survived and came back and talk about it.
“You might not be as lucky,” he said.
He has been living alcohol-free for two years now.