Many, many doors ... like overseas ... flying open for Amajita U20 Afcon hero Tylon Smith

“They were crying, especially my mom!” said Tylon Smith after returning from Egypt triumphant after Amajita defeated Morocco 1-0 to be crowned Afcon Under-20 champions.

The Smith household certainly has plenty to celebrate after the Stellenbosch FC rookie centre-back was also named Player of the Tournament for his courageous displays in the heart of the South Africa Under-20 defence.

His performance was capped with the winning goal against the much-fancied Nigeria in the semi-final. 

The 19-year-old, known for his composure on the ball and ability to dictate the tempo from defence, played every minute of Amajita’s successful campaign, and believes it was his mentality – along with mother’s prayers – that helped him over the past fortnight.

“She was praying for me throughout the whole tournament,” said Smith, who was greeted with a hero’s welcome at the Stellenbosch FC awards ceremony on Tuesday night.

“Every day, you know, she texted me: ‘Good luck with the game. Just be yourself. God is with you’.

“I feel like my mentality was strong. And, yeah, we lost against Egypt, it was a bit tough.

“But I knew we will bounce back, and we will win this thing. 

“And after the goal I scored against Nigeria in the semi-final, I knew we were going to win this thing.”

Although Smith is yet to debut for Stellies in the Premiership, he has been an  integral part of the Maroons’ Diski Challenge team, where the curly-haired defender formed part of the side that beat the English Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur in the Next Gen Cup final at the Loughborough University Stadium last year.

Stellies are also one of the few clubs in the Premiership where the Diski Challenge side trains alongside the senior professional team on a daily basis.

Smith was, therefore, grateful to the role Stellies head coach Steve Barker has played in his development.

“I’m feeling blessed. I think I’m blessed,” he said. “And I’m just thanking God for that opportunity, because it’s also God that helps me.

“I’m thankful for Steve Barker, my head coach, for giving me the opportunity to get a first-team contract and get some experience there, training.

“So, yeah, I’m just thankful. It’s not often that a defender wins (an award), especially in a big tournament like this one, in a major tournament.”

Amajita have now qualified for the Fifa Under-20 World Cup in Chile later this year, which will be yet another shop window for Smith to parade his skills. 

“To be honest, I feel like there’s many doors open for me,” he said. “Like, I know, overseas, especially overseas.

“(On the World Cup) It’s simple. We just have to go with the same fighting spirit, winning mentality, and just keep what we have done, and we will win it.”