Cape Town - The community of Parkwood has lost another young life, with the death of local professional soccer hero Kyle Davids on Wednesday morning.
Davids, 25, a former goalkeeper for Ubuntu Cape Town Football Club and Glendene United Football Club, had been battling stage four colon cancer following his diagnosis in April.
He was also part of Parkwood-based Southampton Football Club.
Teammates and friends at Southampton Football Club had organised a soccer tournament for this weekend in aid of Davids and his family, with all proceeds to go towards providing financial relief for the family.
Friend and teammate David Beukes said Davids died just after 1am.
He said they would proceed with the tournament, and all funds raised would go to Davids’s family to help them pay for his burial.
Beukes encouraged the public to support the initiative and the family.
“The family is very emotional; his mom and sisters are most affected, his father too. I’m very emotional. It comes to me as a huge shock. I knew it would come to this day but I feel I wasn’t emotionally ready to part ways with my friend Kyle,” said Beukes.
Another teammate and friend, Zaheer Abrahams, appealed to the public to assist the family in any way possible.
“The family is in pieces. His mom is beyond broken, to the extent that I can’t even look her in the face because I’m scared I’m going to burst out crying and look weak when I should be strong. His two sisters can’t fathom that they lost their hero, protector, and their best friend. His little brother lost his idol, his role model, and a lot of young boys in Parkwood feel the same,” Abrahams said.
Davids’s father, John Edward Davids, criticised the way Davids had been dealt with at hospitals, saying several public hospitals had failed to detect the severity of his condition.
His son had gone to Grassy Park Day Hospital, Lotus River Day Hospital and Retreat Day Hospital, after suffering from severe back and stomach pain in December. He was told he was suffering from muscle spasms.
“During the month of April, Kyle consulted his soccer coach, who then arranged with for him to be checked out at Victoria Hospital, because none of the other hospitals wanted to help Kyle with X-rays or further tests,” he said.
Tests revealed that Davids had stage four colon cancer and his colon was removed in May.
Davids’s death comes as the community prepares to bury 11-year-old Nahemia Claassen, who died after being wounded in crossfire between gangs last Monday. Nahemia was struck in the head by a bullet less than five metres from his home, where he ran after being hit. He died a day later in hospital.
Nahemia’s father, Alan Bent, confirmed that Nahemia would be laid to rest today at Klip Road Cemetery.
Cape Argus