To hear the crackle of gunfire while playing football was normal for Ronwen Williams growing up. So was the sight of a dead body lying in the roadside on the way home.
‘Gangsterism,’ he calls it. ‘Because of the poverty, everyone is wanting to be a gangster,’ he says. ‘Shooting guns, the violence, pulling knives, drugs …it’s easy to fall into that trap. It’s their way of making money.
‘When you heard gunshots, you ran for cover. It’s easy to be a target but luckily no stray bullets came my way. You could hear them when you were playing and as you were coming from the soccer field it wasn’t unusual to see someone dead, shot close to where you had been playing.’
‘My cousin was one who died,’ says Williams. ‘He was a security guard. A gun went off but it wasn’t his fault. A lot of people that I knew from Gelvandale are in prison. You could pick gangsterism or you could choose football. Luckily, there were no gangsters in my family.’
Ronwen Williams was South Africa’s penalty shootout hero during the Africa Cup of Nations
Williams receives the goalkeeper of the tournament award from Gianni Infantino
Football is in his genes, the whole family plays the game. Hazel, his mother, once a striker with Shutterproof FC, was still playing while six months pregnant with her son.
‘My uncle said it must have affected me because I was identified at a young age by SuperSport United,’ says Williams. ‘That meant I wasn’t exposed to the gangs because I went away to the academy in Johannesburg.’
Williams is affording himself a moment of self-reflection. The 32-year-old has just returned to a hero’s welcome in South Africa after leading his country to third place in the Africa Cup of Nations, their best performance in 24 years.
To top it off, he was handed the best goalkeeper award after some eye-catching displays and a series of impressive penalty saves, becoming the first man in the tournament’s history to save four in one shootout — during the quarter-final against Cape Verde.
As much as South Africa lauds its rugby and cricket stars, ‘Bafana Bafana’ are seen as the ‘people’s team’. The subsequent outpouring of affection towards Williams in recent days has, he says, ‘been crazy’ but overwhelmingly, his feeling is of validation.
‘Ever since I made my international debut there have been critics. I conceded five against Brazil and then five against France and that has always been brought up against me: that I wasn’t good enough or wasn’t big enough. At Afcon I had goosebumps facing some of the biggest strikers in the world like Victor Osimhen and Youssef En-Nesyri but I kept them out. Now I have won over a lot of people.’
For every Williams save, there is a ritual: he looks to the skies and says a prayer. It is not God’s help that he is requesting, it is that of his late brother Marvin.
The death of his big brother in a car accident 14 years ago, left the then 18-year-old keeper bereft and ready to give up.
‘When he passed, I was broken,’ says Williams. ‘He was my number one supporter, my best friend. He left home to be closer to me at the academy so that I could settle better. He had this amazing energy and I looked up to him. After the funeral, I didn’t want to go back to football.’
Williams (left) and South Africa reached the semi-final where they lost to Nigeria on penalties
For three months, Williams ignored the pleas to return until SuperSport youth coach Kwanele Kopo finally convinced him a career in football is what Marvin so desperately wanted for him.
The following season he was promoted to the first team and hasn’t looked back. After 12 years with SuperSport, Williams joined Mamelodi Sundowns, winning South Africa’s Premier Division title in his first season.
The tattooed sleeve that adorns his left arm is dedicated to Marvin and it’s his brother he still turns to for advice.
‘I like to think he’s always around me, especially when things are a little tough,’ says Williams. ‘I look up and have a little conversation with him about what to do, what he’s thinking. It puts me at ease.’
It’s not just spiritual advice that accounts for Williams’ incredible penalty saving though. He’s quick to praise the analysts that help him prepare plus he admits to borrowing methods of psychological warfare.
‘I study as many penalties as possible. I can remember Liverpool’s Bruce Grobbelaar doing his wobbly legs and Moeneeb Josephs, the former South Africa keeper, used to go crazy. He’d take out his false teeth and wave them at the kicker. He’d get the crowd clapping, or be dancing on the line.
‘I shout at them or if they look confident I start telling them which way they are going to go, just little things to put them off.’
At least Williams still has his own teeth. The broad smile reaffirms his confidence following his Afcon exploits, which ignited his ambition of playing in the Premier League.
Williams greets fans after arriving at the airport in Johannesburg after finishing third at AFCON
‘That has always been a dream of mine,’ he says. ‘Afcon showed I can play against the best and still keep clean sheets. I feel secure in my actions and I’ve got so many good years ahead of me.’
Williams did have a brief flirtation with Tottenham’s academy as a 14-year-old. SuperSport’s partnership with the London club saw Williams and his team-mates spend time at Spurs taking on the hosts, Manchester United and Hibernian in a tournament. They drew each game.
‘Ryan Mason was the superstar for Tottenham, he was really impressive but that experience gave us all belief we could compete at that level. I just remember London as an amazing experience.’
If opportunity fails to knock for Williams he would not begrudge his biggest critic, his son Mikyle, getting a chance at his expense.
The 11-year-old is a winger in Mamelodi Sundowns’ development squad. His father likens him to former Tottenham and Everton winger Steven Pienaar, one of South Africa’s most successful exports.
‘If I come off a game feeling pretty happy with myself, Mikyle will say “why did you kick the ball out three times, dad?’’ I love that. He brings me down to earth and keeps me humble.
‘He is only young but has a great insight for the game. I hope that he can go all the way. If I don’t make it to Europe, maybe I can live my dream through him. It’s a sacrifice worth making.’
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