The Sunday Mail
FARAI MUTATU will never forget the sound of his mother’s laughter one fine day in December of 2016.
Born in Zimbabwe but raised in the American state of Michigan, Mutatu had gone more than two years without hearing his mother’s voice.
Mutatu’s parents had returned to Zimbabwe in early 2014 due to visa issues, leaving behind their four children.
They had finally upgraded to smartphones and the magic of WhatsApp calling allowed parents and siblings to defy the 13 417km between them.
It was just for 15 minutes, but it was enough.
“We were excited … It was refreshing. My mom is a pastor, so she always motivates us and tells what to do, spiritually, especially. It was refreshing to hear her voice. It was more of a joyful moment. We were just laughing about some stuff.”
Now Mutatu hears his parents’ voice at least once a week and it makes toughing it out in a foreign land and trying to make a name for himself on the football pitches there that much easier.
Since seeing off his parents at the airport in eighth grade, Mutatu has become one of the most coveted high school soccer players in the United States.
The incoming Haslett High School senior has played club soccer with the Michigan Wolves and has committed to Michigan State University as a junior.
Last year, Mutatu was invited to the US Under-16 national team but couldn’t participate because he’s still not a US citizen.
This past weekend, the 17-year-old forward became the youngest Lansing United player to ever appear for the National Premier Soccer League club.
Lansing coach and GM Nate Miller believes his teenage forward is the best prospect to come out of region in recent memory.
“A lot of those guys at young ages move to different cities for soccer, to play at different clubs away from family,” Miller says.
“They have some pressure on them, like he needs to make this work. I think he looks at his life and is like, ‘I have to be a pro. I have to do that.’
“I think he is really mature, because he hasn’t had his parents around. He hasn’t been micromanaged and overprotected. He can fight. I think that’s something that is missing in youth players in our game — the parents are sometimes micromanaging every situation … Obviously, coaches have played a big part in his life, and his brother is an amazing person, I hear.”
Mutatu, who is in the process of becoming a US citizen, is hopeful his parents will be allowed back in time to see his first collegiate game.
However, until that day comes, he’s going to continue to play the game with them in mind.
“(My mother) gives me Bible verses to get me mentally ready and spiritually ready for games,” he says. “If I score a goal, I just point up. It’s not me, it’s from above. I think about my mom and my dad.” – Lansing State Journal/Sports Reporter
