Malcolm Jacobs dreamed of becoming a professional footballer ever since his grandparents started taking him to matches. His footballing career started at West End United in Athlone, where he was scouted by Old Mutual Academy. And when he signed with Chippa United at the age of 17, his childhood dream of turning professional was close to reality – until his journey hit rollercoaster points.

At the time Chippa, who are currently in the Premier Soccer League, were still in the then Vodacom League (now ABC Motsepe League) but Malcolm was offered a package equal to First Division League (now GladAfrica Championship) players.

“I went from earning R850 in an envelope at Old Mutual Academy (also in the Vodacom League) to R7 500 or R8 000 into my bank account. As a coloured boy all the wrong kind of things start happening when that kind of money is coming in, especially when you are not used to it,” the Crawford-born Jacobs recalls.

The shot-stopper says he got involved with the wrong friends and made a few worrying decisions – to the detriment of his promising career. 

“I started to have some problems with alcohol because of the money and the friends I had associated myself with. The way I was drinking became like a religious thing, and I started missing training, creating problems with the coach. The owner really loved me, though, and put up with a lot of my nonsense.”

Even when Chippa were promoted to the National First Division Jacobs didn’t stop his bad behaviour. The club eventually released him and life became difficult for him, as no other club wanted to sign him – words had gotten around. 

“There was a point where I just wanted to give up. I was in my room for weeks, thinking about the bad things I could do instead of thinking about what I needed to change to become a better professional – and a better person.”

Jacobs completed his high school, and watched in envy as the careers of his former fellow players took off – friends and competitors like Lyle Lakay and Roscoe Pietersen. “It was a wakeup call to see your friends making it and signing their professional contracts – when you know if you had to just do what they did and you’d be there, too.”

After his failed stint at Chippa he returned to the Vodacom League for Glendene United. But the true turning point came when he left Cape Town to join Highlands Park in Johannesburg at the age of 24 – something he regards as the best decision in his entire life. 

“I had to become a man. There was nothing to fall back on, like going to my grandma’s house to eat. I was on my own and I had to fend for myself, and the only way I could do that was to perform, to produce and get a pro contract and earn an income. It was either that or go back home and be an intern at Standard Bank. And I didn’t enjoy dressing up and wearing a tie to work.”

The Return: Rising From The Ashes

Jacobs spent two years at Highlands Park and went on to play for Mbombela United and Ubuntu, and now he is in the books of GladAfrica Championship side Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal. 

Jacobs, says at amateur level footballers get a lot more playing time than at a professional setup. “You have to step up at senior level because it is more demanding, it’s based on results, and it becomes more of a business. There is an added pressure and a lot of academy graduates don’t make the cut because of the way they were lauded and protected from reality throughout their junior development.”

Jacobs described as “phenomenal” the approach that his former employers, Ubuntu, have been taking. “It’s not just about football, it’s about coping with life. When football is going great, how life is, the distractions that the money comes with. They are trying to be as realistic as possible, and also give the youngsters an opportunity to study, which is important.”

He knows firsthand how much that matters.

“For example, at Ajax Cape Town things were nice and the academy structure was great. For years they were producing quality after quality but what happened to those that were quality in the academy and never made the cut in the professional ranks? You walk around in Heideveld and Athlone and you hear the stories of how this boy was at Ajax and he was quality. They never taught him how to deal with things when it doesn’t happen and when you want it to happen.  I’m probably playing the best football right now and it’s happening 10 years after I expected it to happen.” 

At 32 years old, Jacobs still dreams of making it to the Premier Soccer league, and sees that as a way of validating his talent and the hard work he has put in – and the efforts of all those who supported him. He also plans to go into coaching and is adamant that preparing footballers for life outside of Cape Town is crucial for the success and development of footballers in the Mother City.

“A lot of talented Cape Town players don’t make the grade at senior level because of the mentality that is installed. There’s a lot you need to deal with from a cultural perspective, when you step into a challenging situation and you don’t have people around to help you through it.”

The mental aspect of the game lies dear to his heart, and wants to use his journey as well as others, to enlighten and grow footballers as people too.

“Sometimes you need to dig deep and realise what you want. I believe that if you stick to your guns and work on perfecting your art, you will become successful at the right time. Just continue working, regardless of the obstacles; just try to be better than the person you were yesterday, and your time will come.”