TRIBUTE TO MR A

Cape Town Spurs F. C. are saddened to hear of the passing of Mr Albert Hendricks, Mr A, as he was affectionately known by all. 

The directors, staff, players and fans of the club, would like to convey their deepest condolences to his wife, Annie, children, Shireen, Gavin, Lee-Anne, Sayde and grandchildren. 

Alexi Efstathiou, CEO of Cape Town Spurs, pays tribute to Mr A :

“Football has lost yet another legend of the game. Backroom staff and administrators don’t often get any recognition for what they do behind the scenes, as, more often than not, the players are the ones that get all the coverage and accolades. 

Mr A, was one of those who did not receive much attention, yet he outshone many a player through his passion and dedication to his job and his commitment to excellence. 

Mr A did not hesitate to use his life as an example to many young and upcoming players, or, for that matter, anyone he came across, from any walk of life. 

His life as an orphan, was his drive to succeed in life. Success was not measured by him by his bank balance, but by the motivation of being the best he could be in the tasks assigned to him. He had incredible pride in telling people about his achievements, whether it was about his immaculate presentation of his kit for training or match day, or his maintanace work at his previous job or his work on the ships that he spent many years in travelling the world as a crewman. 

Most proud, was he of his kids. He spoke proudly about the way he was able to raise them and give them the best he could. He did’t want them to experience life in the way that he had. He wanted them to be fully equipped to handle all that life would throw at them. He did a great job! 

His parental advice extended to the club’s changeroom and beyond. He understood better than most, that many of the players at the club, faced similar challenges to  those he had encountered. He wanted them all to succeed and make a better life for themselves and their families. 

He was absolutely livid when he saw that players sometimes were not putting in the required effort towards improving themselves as human beings and as players. And boy, did he let them know! He would lecture them one on one and hold back no punches in telling them life’s realities. 

It did not end there. We would often have long chats where he would tell me where and how we could improve our club. Both being smokers, we would enjoy our cigarette exploring what the issues where and how we could improve, always using his life experiences as a reference point. 

Not only that. When he felt that something was not living up to the clubs values , he would often knock on the door of one of the directors to inform them of such. It was his club and he let you know it! 

Often in life, we search for that precious moment, that moment of happiness and gratitude. Today is that day. Not only can we be thankful and happy that we were lucky enough to have Mr A in our lives, we can set our life’s compass to face in his direction of wisdom as this is the path that he would want us all at Cape Town Spurs to follow. 

Thank you Mr A, you were a true legend of the game and a true legend of humanity! Forever in our hearts!!! RESPECT.