In this edition of My First Pay Cheque, KickOff goes back in time with former Black Leopards goalkeeper Walter Khumalo as he reveals how he spent his first salary in football after signing on the dotted line for Vaal Professionals.
The Sasolburg-born man, who turned 52 on Monday and is now a goalkeeper coach, reveals how he spent his first-ever football salary.
Who did you sign for?
"I was at Vaal Professional when I received my first salary in football... I think it was in 1998.
"That time, I think I was still 21 or 22 years old, and the salary came in an envelope [laughs].
"The envelope looked big and fat from the outside when, in fact, it was full of R10 notes [laughs]."
How much was it?
"It was R800. That was the first month. And the second month it was R1 200.
"I remember those days you wouldn't dare question the club bosses about the money.
"We were caught in the excitement of playing for a PSL team, you didn't care much about pay cheques.
"I was not even asked how much I was expecting. In those days, there were no such things as salary negotiations.
"You were told to sign here and there and expect your money month-end, and come month-end, you grabbed your brown envelope and rushed home. You would count it in front of your mother. Hawu! Kanti [Good grief! Only to find out] it's only R800? [Laughs]."
How did you celebrate?
"To be honest, I gave all of it to my mother. I didn't even celebrate. And from the salar, my mother gave me only R150, which I happened to share with my girlfriend. She tookk the R75 girlfriend allowance, and I kept the other R75. I was doing Standard 9 [Grade 11] at the time."
What did you buy with it?
"I only bought myself stuff like sneakers and so on, in my second month. In my second month, my mother decided to let me have all of my salary, and fortunately, that month it was R1 200. It was a graph - one month, it was up, and the following month, it was down [laughs]."
Did it last you the full month?
"Fortunately, it did. Those days, the cost of living was not as much as it is right now. The reason I'm saying that is because at home, we never ran out of food. The club used to provide transport to and from training.
"It may seem like the club robbed me, but to be honest, I was still in high school. I was excited to own the club's tracksuits and jerseys with the league's logo. Those things were enough.
"I still remember how handsome I was with my S-curl hairstyle. Girlfriends were happy to just be seen in public wearing my Vaal Professional jerseys and stuff. That was huge back then."