Many readers and football lovers will have fond memories of Patrick Ningiza, and now, in this edition of Negotiating Behind The Scenes, KickOff brings you the story of the former Moroka Swallows star.
Ningiza takes us through his negotiations with the late Moroka Swallows chairman David Chabeli, the day he joined from Orlando Pirates.
Who I signed for?
"I signed for Swallows from Orlando Pirates because we were still young, us and the likes of 'China' Masondo we weren't given any game time.
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"The likes of Jerry Sikhosana, Helman Mkhalele, Edward Motale and Innocent Mncwango were the ones who were preferred back then.
"But I was free when Swallows signed me, they spotted me in the Godfrey Moloi Games in Moletsane. That was in 1998, if I'm not mistaken."
How did you find out?
"The late Swallows bus driver, Jeff Moroka, is the one who invited me to the Swallows training sessions, and the rest was history. Walter Rautmann was the coach."
Where did you meet?
"At the club's offices in Eloff [Street]."
Who was there?
"I was with my high school teacher, Patrick Masina. He is the one who negotiated my contract with David Chabeli."
What surprised you?
"The salary that was offered. Those days, money didn't matter that much to me, I just wanted to play football. At Pirates, I was getting R1 500, and now at Swallows, I was going to get R4 700."
Did you get what you wanted?
"Because I was young, I didn't demand a lot."
Did you see out the contract?
"I signed for three years, and yes, I did see it out. I only left afterward. I moved to Hellenic."
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What you would change?
"I won't change anything. I think the only thing I wanted was to play football and appear on television."