“I think my heart is going to beat outside my body when I stand there. My smile is going to be bigger than ever.” (Photo: Cornelia Thirion/Maroela Media)
Nearly 75,000 spectators in a stadium in the USA, a ten-year-old boy from South Africa and an opportunity that will never come his way again.
Luca Human-Maré is only a young pitcher, but he has already built up quite a group of followers on social media. Now this young football enthusiast from Northcliff in Johannesburg is soon on his way to the World Cup football tournament with the South African football team, Bafana Bafana, as ball carrier.
The game where Luca, as one of the Kia Kickoff Kids – the only one from South Africa – will carry the ball onto the field, will take place on June 18 in Atlanta, Georgia. Bafana will play in this match against a team that has yet to be determined.
“I’m really excited. I told my best friend because he loves football too. He thinks it is amazing. My soccer friends are all happy for me,” says the little man excitedly.
Sitting on the family’s lawn, surrounded by a vast collection of his soccer balls, Luca’s drive is almost palpable.
“I took part in the Kia Official Match Ball Carrier competition and had to share videos of my football talent and spirit for the sport on social media. The competition started in the middle of January, and I wanted to make 100 videos. In the end I only got to 60, but it was about three videos a day,” he continues.
(Photo: Cornelia Thirion/Maroela Media)
Luca’s mother, Liana, is holding her heart for the incredibly big moment ahead.
“I can’t even imagine how it will feel for him to stand there between the teams – in front of around 75,000 spectators! And he’s only ten years old. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience!” she said.
The Human-Maré family has been making videos for social media of Luca and his twin sister, Finn, for the past four years. Over time, the twins learned how to make and edit the videos themselves, and nowadays Luca is so adept that he completes most of his soccer videos himself.
“We love to create stuff. It’s important to us to make videos of things they like, and it’s something to do together that we all enjoy,” says Liani.
(Photo: Cornelia Thirion/Maroela Media)
“Sometimes we make videos for a campaign or something similar, but 90% of the videos we make are for fun. We don’t necessarily create opportunities to make videos, and instead take videos when the children are busy with something anyway.”
Luca’s love for football started a few years ago. He started watching football matches as a seven-year-old and joined a local football club a year later. He joined the Stars of Africa soccer academy in the middle of last year, and since then it has been his soccer home.
“When I think of football, I want to smile. It’s a very nice feeling to be able to play football. I will keep going, I won’t give up. It’s a sport that makes me very happy,” says Luca.
He signs up for soccer practice on weekends, but if a man is really serious about his sport, he simply devises his own plans to progress faster.
(Photo: Cornelia Thirion/Maroela Media)
“He has football practice on Sundays and signed himself up to practice with another team an hour earlier, before he practices with his own team for an hour and a half. Then we come home, and when I see him again, he is busy with a ball.
“I think when you love something so much, it’s easier. I think if he had to write a test for four hours, he wouldn’t have done it so easily,” jokes Lani.
Luca usually plays left wing or striker, but left wing remains his favorite position.
“Many times people bundle in the middle, and if I’m the left winger, I can kick a goal past the bundle. My right foot is strong, so it works well for me,” he explains and jumps up to demonstrate a kick with his right foot.
(Photo: Liani Human-Maré.)
He dreams of becoming a professional footballer for Barcelona and already has a five-year plan in place. “There is a football academy in Barcelona that I would like to play for. I have already been to Spain, and it was very nice for me,” says Luca.
Luca’s biggest role model, soccer player Lionel Messi, also used to play for Barcelona.
“I say Messi is the best footballer, and there are many reasons why I think so. He is the footballer with the most trophies in the history of the sport. He has eight Ballon d’Or awards (best player of the year), and he has a World Cup title,” explains Luca.
When asked if he might want to burst into tears when he stands in front of the tamai crowd among the players, Luca replies that he has already cried… from overwhelming joy.
“I think my heart is going to beat outside my body when I stand there. My smile is going to be bigger than ever.”