From Hillcrest to the FA Cup microphone – Amile 'Drury' Duma’s relentless rise

At just 20, Amile Duma has already stood in a commentary booth for one of football’s most storied competitions — the FA Cup. 

For the Hillcrest-raised voice, the journey has been anything but accidental.

“For as long as I can remember, I’ve been hooked on the sound of the Sky Sports News intro at 6am before school,” Duma recalls. “While most kids my age were watching cartoons, I was glued to Sports Blitz and Sky Sports.”

His mother, Khosi Zwane, worked as a sales manager at East Coast Radio for 17 years. From booth cameos in kids’ adverts to weekends at sports grounds, Duma grew up with one foot in media and the other in sport. 

He was a promising athlete in primary school, though inconsistency in high school meant that potential went unfulfilled.

Determined to fulfil his dreams off the field during his time at Clifton High School, he asked his sports director for direction, an email address that eventually led him to Johan “Spoed” Smith — a veteran rugby commentator on SuperSport Schools. 

The relationship grew over time, with Smith eventually calling one of his performances “world-class.”

In his first full year, Duma worked for free, volunteering his skills and covering games across KZN to catch Smith’s attention. 

A call from sound engineer Vumoh Kunene at the 2023 Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival changed everything. Arriving with just 45 minutes’ notice, he ended up calling all 15 games over three days. 

By the final, hundreds of parents had gathered near his mic. One drove from Johannesburg to shake his hand; another told him his grandparents in the UK called him “astonishing.”

“It was only my second time commentating,” Duma says. “That’s when I realised this could be a career.”

In November, he got his first paid gig at the Inkunzi Football Tournament, with matches aired on SuperSport Schools. 

Then came Craven Week Rugby at Kings Park alongside Waylon Murray and Andy Capostagno — “Commentary in the Shark Tank… I still get goosebumps.”

Duma had opportunity to engage English audiences as he took over the mic at an FA Cup preliminary rounds match last month, and this demanded a new level of preparation.

“Every detail mattered. I studied Paul Stubbs, Peter Drury, Martin Tyler… UK commentary is slower, more poetic. I adapted my timing to match it,” he said. He even avoided friends and family days before to preserve his voice.

On the day, the atmosphere was intense. “The football was direct, physical — very different from South Africa’s build-up style,” said Duma. 

“I realised we could compete with those Championship-level teams, though their strike power and height set them apart.”

His ambitions are clear: a permanent SuperSport role in Johannesburg, Currie Cup rugby, the Betway Premiership, and the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

“To the younger generation, be unapologetically delusional,” he says. 

“Commentary is the art of making moments live forever. One day, I want my name mentioned alongside the greats — maybe even Shakespeare.”

For now, Amile “Drury” Duma is still writing his opening chapters — but the pages are turning quickly.