Jomo Sono
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ephraim Matsilela Sono | ||
| Date of birth | 17 July 1955 | ||
| Place of birth | Johannesburg, South Africa | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder / Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Orlando Pirates | |||
| 1977 | New York Cosmos | 12 | (1) |
| 1978 | Colorado Caribous | 30 | (8) |
| 1979 | Atlanta Chiefs | 29 | (5) |
| 1980–1982 | Toronto Blizzard | 57 | (22) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1998 | South Africa (Caretaker) | ||
| 2002 | South Africa (Caretaker) | ||
| 2003 | South Africa (Caretaker) | ||
| 2009– | Jomo Cosmos (Owner and coach) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Ephraim Matsilela Sono (affectionately known as Jomo Sono and sometimes also called the "Black Prince of South African Soccer" and "Bra J" "Mjomana" ) (born 17 July 1955) is a South African soccer club owner and coach and was also a star soccer player. Sono was born Walikisi Madoda in Eastern Cape. Both his grandparents were born in the then Northern Transvaal at Valdezia village outside Makhado in Limpopo Province
Sono was born in the township of Orlando East in Soweto, near Johannesburg. When he was eight years old his father Eric "Scara" Bamuza Sono who was a midfielder for the Orlando Pirates football team in the early 1960s, died as a result of a car crash. Soon after, his mother abandoned him. Consequently, Sono was left in the care of his ailing grandparents; as they were very poor, he had to resort to selling apples and peanuts at soccer games and train stations to clothe himself, buy food for his grandparents and pay school fees.
Sono's soccer career had an unusual beginning; during a match that he attended one of the Orlando Pirates’ regular players was absent and Sono was requested to stand in for him. He soon gained fame for his all-round ability, dribbling and accurate passing skills. It was during this time that he was given the nickname of Jomo (which means "burning spear") by an Orlando Pirates fan, who saw in him the same leadership qualities as those of Jomo Kenyatta, the then president of Kenya.
After he had accomplished everything that he set out to do at Orlando Pirates, Sono went to the United States of America, where, in 1977, he played for the New York Cosmos, where one of his team-mates was the legendary player Pelé. In 1978, he moved to the Colorado Caribous. At the end of the season, the Caribous moved to become the Atlanta Chiefs where Sono played with another South African soccer star of the time, Kaizer Motaung. Sono completed his stint in North America playing for the Toronto Blizzard, playing three summers, 1980 through 1982.
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