Give Shooz his flowers

I’d never imagine that I’d hear the term “give him his flowers” in mainstream culture until I caught an episode of Helen Herimbi’s hip hop show i(m)bali LIVE.

The term basically means giving someone his or her flowers while they can smell them, which basically means celebrate that person while they are still alive.

That brings me to Thabiso “Shooz” Mekuto, the man who brought his own flair to the role of Public Relations

Officer (PRO) in South African football.

I’m not sure how many still remember Shooz walking across the pitch in that red-striped blazer.

He had that Section 2 Gugs swagger about him and always looked sharp - well-dressed and fresh chiskop baba.

There’s a difference in the type of guys you find in Gugs. Section 1 and Section 3 guys have a rough edge to them, Section 4 has a strong connection to the EmaXhoseni in the Eastern Cape.

Now the Section 2 guys, like where Shooz grew up, are known for style and like to be seen when they arrive at a place. You know - brekerig.

So Ta Shooz was just being himself and it totally worked.

You couldn’t miss his car, branded in Ajax Cape Town colours. 

CHASING THE DREAM: Ajax lead promotion race

You’d really see it everywhere. Sometimes you’d even see it a few times in the same week at different places.

The man was busy and brought his own flavour to the way the club connected with the community and the people.

I’d like to even suggest that if you didn’t attend at least one Ajax game at the stadium and you were young between 1996 and 2006 and maybe even 2010, you probably saw him at your primary school, high schools, tertiary institution or even at your place of work. 

He was featured on radio, on TV and on newspapers giving updates about Ajax.

The Urban Warriors were everywhere and those were also the good times when the team was playing exciting

football.

Shooz navigated us as fans and followers of the game from Newlands to Athlone, the longer drives on weekends and even midweek to Stellenbosch’s Coetzenberg Stadium, hell to Kimberley even.

This was the time when PROs were the main plug for clubs to fans.

The likes of Putco Mafani were doing their thing at Kaizer Chiefs and Mickey Modisane at Orlando Pirates.

Shooz was waving the flag, not only for Ajax, but for the whole of Cape Town among these men whose job it is to connect us with the clubs we support.

Mafani and Modisane are no longer involved in club football, but Shooz has managed to show some real staying power and has even managed to navigate the changes at Ikamva.

And he has seen most of the players who have walked through the gates at that great Cape Town-based international football institution, thanks to a short stint with Chippa United in 2014.

It was wild catching him on Romy Titus’ The Touch Line show on Radio 2000 on Sunday afternoon while driving home giving a detailed update on Ajax’s return to training.

The Urban Warriors went straight back to training after getting their permit on Thursday and trained over the whole weekend.

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL: Ajax boys celebrate

He also confirmed that movement around the buildings is limited and controlled with everyone designated an area where they work.

So players have access to the technical areas such as the change rooms, but only enter through the back of the

building.

The players train in groups of five and Ajax have been fortunate because they have three fields at Ikamva which means they were able to spread the players across all fields.

This is an added advantage for the current GladAfrica Championship league leaders on their quest to secure the title and promotion back to the Premiership.

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