After scoring 34 goals in the 1991/92 season during his tenure as a striker at  Kaizer Chiefs, Fani Madida says he has  been the star of the show ever since his young playing days. 

Born and bred in Madadeni in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, at age nine Madida would change from his school uniform to casual clothing and run to the streets where he and his football pals would collect plastic bags to make a ball.  

“I remember the days when we would play after school. But also, I would represent my school, Vumelani Lower Primary School, as we competed against other lower primary schools at the time. I was both a soccer player and an athlete at the time. I was already a star at the age of eight because I used to score a lot,” said Madida. 

Those are the days that produced this legendary lethal striker recognised as one of the top goal poachers this country has ever seen. 

Before the deal with Amakhosi, Madida played for Madadeni Dynamos, which was also known as Abafana be Isigxobo, where he got promoted not only for his skill but his aggression that made him always find the back of the net. 

“My brother and I used to go there to watch the team play before I started playing for them. Whenever their ball left the field of play, we would do throw-ins for them because they used to train at a school ground.  I played there throughout my high school.”  

As his love for the game grew Madida found himself in the A division of the club, playing in the second division of the tournament against other Durban-based teams.

During the December holidays, Madida was spotted by a Wits University student while he was playing for his team. 

“I visited my friend and church mate in Tembisa. It happened that we played football at the Tembisa Hospital ground and Meshack Mahlangu, who was studying medicine at the time, saw me play and identified me as the future talent as he was a soccer fan,” he said. 

“He told me that he would like to take me for trials at their school and the following day I was at Wits. When I got there I found the coach training the senior team. I was told to join the juniors who were also training around the school. While busy training they stopped to tell me I should join the senior guys.” 

But Madida had to return to his hometown in KZN where he lived with his parents and eight other siblings to complete his matric year. After finishing high school, the 19-year-old came back to Joburg determined and readier than ever to pursue a career in soccer. 

He says he was later introduced to Kaizer Chiefs chairman Kaizer Motaung at the club’s old offices in the Joburg CBD. 

“I met the late Steve Mabona, who was a politician, and had a great relationship with him. He’s the one who told them (Chiefs) about my talent. I was then given a chance to train with the team. I ended up doing trials for about three months until they decided to finally sign me. I was so happy,” said Madida. 

“Mabona told Motaung that I could run very fast. Amakhosi had great players when I got there. I was groomed by the best players and waited for my time. They knew they were signing a great product and a brilliant footballer.” 

The 56-year-old still thanks Motaung for making use of his skills as frequently as possible and for protecting his career by giving him game time. 

“He was always a visionary. He loaned me to another team called Giant Blackpool, which played in the first division, so I could gain experience. His club has always been a trendsetter. That’s where the loaning of players started,” he said. 

“Giant Blackpool ended up getting promoted to play in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) because we were the top goal-scoring team in the first division. We got to the PSL and hammered all the top teams, that’s when Motaung called me back to Chiefs because I also hammered Chiefs while playing for Blackpool. Augusto Palacios, who was going to be the coach for the next season at Amakhosi, also called me to let me know that I should come back.”

He boasts about the good old days. 

“I once scored a goal against Gary Bailey – and he has since retired, he never played again ever after that game. We were playing for the FNB Cup and he retired,” he laughed. 

But Madida also experienced embarrassing moments as a footballer. 

“I remember we were vying for the league title and Jomo Cosmos beat us. Amazulu had also beat us in Durban before that. There was also an instance where Orlando Pirates also embarrassed us and we lost the Champions League title. This was embarrassing because Chiefs were known for winning at the time. We were always fighting to win trophies.  

“I am a Chiefs fan and I had always wanted to play for that team. I played for them and I coached them in 2007 as an assistant. We won the Nedbank Cup and MTN8 Cup twice. I fulfilled that dream to the fullest,” he said. 

These days, Madida provides young players with opportunities and improved sports facilities through his foundation, Didiza34 Foundation, which he launched in 2019.

“The foundation is mostly people-centred and we deal with empowering young football players so they can get opportunities.”