AmaZulu FC and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Veli Mothwa, who faced intense criticism in recent months, has opened up about the backlash from fans.
The 33-year-old shot-stopper has seemingly fallen out of favour at both club and national team level.
In September, he was at fault for one of Uganda’s goals in the 2-2 2025 AFCON qualifier draw against Bafana at Orlando Stadium.
Later that month, he made another costly mistake for AmaZulu, conceding a late goal to Polokwane City FC in a 2-1 away loss.
Mothwa argues that fan pressure can be a positive force, pushing players to reach their full potential.
He believes that “aggressive messages” from the public can serve as motivation, inspiring players to silence their critics.
‘THEY SWEAR AT US’ – MOTHWA ON CRITICS
“I feel like it’s needed, that pressure. Because if there’s no pressure from the supporters, how will I play?,” said Mothwa on Gagasi FM Extra Time.
“I will play and say, they’re not supporting me, so why not? So, if they’re pushing you, because most of the time, they swear at us.
“When you make one mistake, they swear at you. But what do you say in your mind?Do you focus on the swearing, or you take the swearing as a positive mind of saying, he swore this person. I need to push for him not to swear at me again.
“Even most of the strikers, you know, when they don’t score, they get angry, and then they, maybe when the game is finished, they swear at you and say..
“You ask them, why didn’t you score? He say, ah, you didn’t pass me the ball.
“Well, you know those things. He’s going to take it as a good striker to say, ‘I’m going to show him in the match’ and then everyone is celebrating.
“So I feel that supporters need to do that for us. Even though when you’re down, they have to pick you up with aggressive message.”
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