In this edition of My First, former Golden Arrows midfielder Bonang Ngaka shares how he had to wait four years for his first-ever signing-on fee.
My First School:
"I attended Lebone Primary School in Tsakane, where I grew up. I remember being nervous on my first day, surrounded by a crowd of strangers. I used to be scared of my female teacher [laughs]. Spending a whole day away from my grandma was never easy. I was six years old."
My First Kiss:
"I was already in high school when my first kiss happened. I always tell my wife not to blame me for not being romantic because I started dating quite late. I was too focused on football. Even my girlfriend often complained about me visiting her while still smelling of sweat from training."
My First Child:
"My daughter is 25 years old this year. I was already with Golden Arrows when she was born. I traveled alone from Joburg to Durban, but we were three when I left Durban for Joburg [laughs]. My wife is from Ntuzuma."
My First Soccer Boots:
"My first boots were Patrick. I fell in love with them the day they came out. My middle name is Patrick. So, when my mom asked me which soccer boots I wanted her to buy me, I looked around the shop and spotted the Patrick soccer boots. I immediately pointed them out, saying, 'ngifuna leli' [laughs]."
My First Red Card:
"I never received a red card in professional football. The only red cards I remember were at Natal Technikon under coach Zipho Dlangalala, and those were for retaliation."
My First Own Goal:
"I have never scored an own goal against my own goalkeeper. At Golden Arrows, we had two specialists in that regard: Siphiwe Mkhonza and Lesley Langa."
My First Individual Award:
"I was named Player of the Tournament in amateur football while I was at Scotland FC in my neighborhood in Tsakane. I was a teammate of the late Oscar Ntwaga."
My First Goal:
"My first goal was in Mlazi while playing for Arrows against Avendale Athletico in the National First Division. It was a nice volley from Nhlanhla Mshibe's cross, and we won that match 3-1."
My First Trophy With A Club:
"I won the NFD league trophy in the 1999/2000 season, which promoted Golden Arrows to the PSL."
My First Car:
"My first car was a Toyota Conquest, which I could afford at the time. I bought it in 2006 after leaving Golden Arrows for R29,000."
My First Signing-On Fee:
"My signing-on fee was R50,000 at Golden Arrows, but I wasn't given it on time. After being discovered at Natal Technikon, I trained with Arrows for three days. That week, they were playing against one of the Big Three teams and told me, 'Sign here quickly; the papers need to be rushed to Johannesburg for registration. We want to use you in the starting line-up this weekend'.
“Honestly, where was I going to find time to read that stack of papers when I was being told the coach wanted me to start? [laughs]. I only saw that R50 000 after I sustained an injury and had to take the club to the PSL DRC to get it, I saw the money after four years. Then Arrows put me on transfer, and I had to stop everything when I couldn't find a new team."
