Ever thought what inspired some jersey numbers?

Not every football player has a deep connection with the jersey number he dons, but in most cases there’s a background story behind how the shirt number was chosen in the first place.

Bloemfontein Celtic's Victor Letsoalo and AmaZulu goalkeeper Siyabonga Mbatha may wear different jersey numbers at their respective clubs, but the pair’s reasons for donning their numbers are interestingly identical.

Letsoalo and Mbatha wear 21 and 28 respectively,  commemorating the birthdays of their kids. Letsoalo’s daughter, Bokang, was born on January 21 2018, while Mbatha was blessed with his first son, Ayabonga, on February 28, four years ago.

“The reason I wear . number 21 is because of the love I have for my little girl. She was born on 21 January two years ago, so I decided to wear this number to celebrate her,” said Letsoalo.

“She's so special to me. I always feel her presence when I am on the field. The jersey number connects me with her.”

When Mbatha linked-up with AmaZulu from Richards Bay in 2017, he never hesitated to ask the club to hand him number.28.

“When I joined AmaZulu, I asked the club to give me number.28 because my son was born on February 28 in 2016. Fortunately they gave it to me and it’s a special number for me,’’ said Mbatha.

Highly rated fullback Nicholus Lukhubeni, who is on loan at Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila from Mamelodi Sundowns, has never donned any other jersey number but number 32, since he was promoted last year.

Lukhubeni has opened up about how his ex-teammate Motjeka Madisha played a role in him falling in love with that jersey number. 

“When I was promoted I chose it [32] randomly, later I had a conversation with Madisha. He told me the number was blessed and things started happening for me . I actually believed that it’s indeed blessed, so decided to wear it throughout my career,’’ said Lukhubeni.

Celtic midfielder Lucky Baloyi also shared how his affinity with jersey number 35 came about. Baloyi continues to wear number 35, a number he started wearing during his days at Kaizer Chiefs. The lad from Mokopane has even started a clothing label.

“At Chiefs development I used number.5 and when I get promoted it wasn’t available…there was 35 and 77, so I choose 35 because it has a ‘5’ that I grew up wearing. The number 35 has grown with me ... it has became my trademark,’’ said Baloyi.

“My aim was to make it special the same way as number 10. I have even started my clothing line XXK35 [abbreviation for Tsonga phrase Xikwembu xi kona, which means God is alive].’’

Meanwhile, TS Galaxy veteran Reneilwe Letsholonyane emphasised the reason he wears 38 has nothing to do with the fact that he’s 38.

Pirates midfielder Linda Mntambo said he wanted to wear 23 at Pirates but ended up taking 32 because 23 was already in use.