More minutes the mandate for Jesse Donn

For SuperSport United midfielder Jesse Donn, minutes are the order of the day, as they have been vital in his development as footballer and eventually led to him being signed by Matsatsantsa.

The 21-year old’s career so far, can be viewed as one of natural progression, from the Ubuntu Cape Town academy, playing for the first team in the National First Division (NFD) now known as the GladAfrica Championship, to getting a move to SuperSport United in the Premier Division.

His formative years as a professional at Ubuntu, who he joined from the age 12; laid the foundation for him to be the player and person he is today.

“I was privileged to be part of the Ubuntu academy, they groomed us to be men before footballers.

But going into my first season with the first team, I didn’t play as much as I would have liked, because I was busy with my matric and I played 12 games. In the second season I could concentrate more on the football, I managed to get more game time, getting minutes in the NFD (National First Division) was important for my development,” said Donn.

In South African football recent years, we have seen how the Nedbank Cup can be a platform for players to alert big teams of their talents. In the 2018 edition, Donn put on solid performances including a man of the match wining display against Free State Stars, that was enough to put him on the radar of big teams, that’s what minutes can do for a young player.

In the transfer window of the 2019/2020 season, Tshwane giants SuperSport United, secured the services of the Cape Town born player. In his debut season with Kaitano Tembo’s side, due to the stiff competition in the middle of the park; he only amassed 5 appearances.

“I didn’t play much because of the competition, we had Dean Furman, Teboho Mokoena, Sipho Mbule but it was a learning curve playing with those guys, I picked up their habits and all.

It was tough not getting game time but when in the future when I look back at this time, ill pick up some positives.”

An encouragement for Donn, is that SuperSport United will give you minutes when youre good enough.

 “SuperSport trusts young players, that’s not often the case in South Africa. They have always played young players, and that’s the reason I have signed for them.

We have Teboho Mokoena, Sipho Mbule, Jamie Webber, and we are all the same age, and its nice. We are all going through the same thing, competing and learning from each other.”

Outside of football, Donn spends his time focusing on education as he is studying Economics through the Cornerstone Institute. He also spends time with long time friend, who has become a brother, Luke Fleurs. The two have experienced growth together, since their days at the Ubuntu academy where they became best friends, when playing for the first team they travelled together and also went for trails in Croatia.

With the new season on the horizon, the mandate for Donn has already been set.

“I want to get more game tine, I want to play as much as I can,” concluded Donn.