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360º PERSPECTIVES | ISSUE 7 | 2020/2021
Soccer’s loss was music’s gain » “I wasn’t the kind of kid who grew up loving music,” says singer, songwriter and music producer Chad Saaiman, who grew up in Crawford near Athlone.
H
E SAYS, “WE WERE A SOCCER FAMILY AND I WAS SET ON BECOMING A PROFESSIONAL SOCCER PLAYER. I played for Rygersdal
Football Club in Rondebosch. I also captained the U/17 team and played in the senior first team.” On Valentine’s Day 2000, Saaiman sang on stage with a few friends. It was a life-changing moment but he didn’t realise it then, saying simply, “I found something else that I was interested in.” He continued playing soccer and performed in the odd music competition and events in Athlone. In 2002, Saaiman enrolled for a BA degree majoring in English Literature at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). “I only realised years later that, while a BA degree was very broad with no defined or straight career Chad Saaiman. >
path, there were so many directions you could go with the skills you acquired. When I started writing my own songs, those skills proved useful. UWC gave me a great education and allowed me to be myself in a space where I felt I belonged and could excel,” says Saaiman.
