Mr Sithole passed away in the early hours of this morning.
When Sphamandla Goodenough Sithole, who identifies as the Orlando Pirates’ number one supporter, attends games to support his favorite football team, he dresses as a woman.
The Buccaneers, the first Southern African team to win the African championship in 1995, will play FC Platinum in a Champions League matchup at Barbourfields on Saturday.
Despite being brought to football games as a child by an uncle who supported the Kaizer Chiefs, he is strongly loyal to his Buccaneers, a team he started supporting at the age of 12.
Similar to the football players he idolizes, Sithole has established himself as a household name in South Africa. His peculiar lyrics, which were taken from a television interview that catapulted him into the public eye, have also appeared in songs by rapper Cassper Nyovest and DJ Cooperman from Bulawayo.
His astonishing journey to celebrity fandom serves as a testament to how South Africans can turn anyone into a commercial success story, even individuals who would otherwise be laughed at or disgraced for their troubles with English.
The line was taken from the infamous television interview he gave with former SABC football reporter Deshi Bhaktawer in 2011 after winning the Fan of the Day award.
The interview went viral, garnering more than 320 524 views on YouTube as of yesterday, and the expression “I enjoy it for the Pirates” started to gain popularity in the area.
Because of his difficulties speaking English, the South Africans could have made fun of him and reduced him to being an object, but instead they saw his enormous commercial value.
Additionally, Bulawayo’s DJ Cooperman and award-winning rapper Nyovest both created songs with lyrics drawn from that interview, while Sithole also created an album and a single on the incident.
Bhaktawer, a former professional football player who previously played goalkeeping for the Pirates, went even farther and created a lager beer called “5 Skippas,” which has since been selling well in South Africa.
May his soul rest in peace.
Goodenough dropped by our #MSW Studios to distance himself from "photoshopped pics" linking him to his alleged support of @KaizerChiefs saying he remains firmly rooted and a staunch @orlandopirates supporter!! pic.twitter.com/GNbtg4gh58
— robertmarawa (@robertmarawa) November 12, 2019
