Windhoek
The next guest on MTC’s inspirational talk show “MTC Masters of Success” on Thursday, October 29 will be the legendary soccer star Jomo Ephraim Matsilele Sono, still regarded as one of Africa’s best soccer players ever.
Sono was born in July 1955 in Orlando East, south-west of Johannesburg.
His magic on the field earned him many nicknames, among them “Troublemaker”, “Kansvatter”, “Heartbreaker” and “The Black Prince”.
He was a midfielder/forward and won the 1987 NSL Championship with Jomo Cosmos FC. He won various awards among them being voted Player of the Century by the Sowetan newspaper and Radio Metro FM.
In 1999 he was voted the third best coach in Africa by African Football Magazine, while in 2004 he received the Jack Cheethman Memorial Award for his outstanding contributions to soccer development. He was also honoured with the Virgin Active Sports Industry Lifetime Achievement award in 2013.
From 1973-1976 he played for Orlando Pirates. In 1977 he played for New York Cosmos, and then moved to Colorado Caribous in 1978 and Atlanta Chiefs in 1979. In 1980-1982 he played for Toronto Blizzard and then Jomo Cosmos FC from 1983-1992.
Sono is the head coach of Jomo Cosmos since 1993, was the technical advisor of Bafana Bafana in 1996, then head coach in the 1998 African Nations Cup and head coach at the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.
Sono has held various leadership positions in football including technical committee member of the national team, coach at the 1999 Mandela XI, coach of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Comesa region and member of the South African Football Association (SAFA) national executive committee.
Sono is now a successful businessman and the sole owner and head coach of Jomo Cosmos FC, which was founded in 1983. He is a shareholder in IFS Consulting and owns 30 percent shares in vehicle parts supplier Midas.
He also owns 27.6 percent shares in Paint and Ladders. Sono’s Accor forms part of a joint venture with Southern Sun called Affirmed Investments, which owns Formula 1 hotel chains.
Sono is the director of the Carnivore Restaurant and Misty Hotels and Conference Centre. He also owns a property business that leases properties in Soweto. Sono is the chairperson and one of the original founders of Excel Petroleum Group, now incorporated into a new-look Sasol Oil through an empowerment deal.
Sono owns 26 percent of Stellenbosch-based civil engineering consultancy Entech and serves as their chairperson. He is also a 50 percent co-owner in a venture that developed the Four Seasons Golf Estate in Brits. He owns 26 percent of the Silent Press printing company and owns 10 percent of Life Diamonds.
His other interest is a 15 percent share in Thunderstone Mining which owns the Kimberley diamond mine. Tickets to the show are for free and available at the NTN box office.