In this edition of My First Pay Cheque, KickOff catches up with former Orlando Pirates defender Siyabonga Sangweni as he fondly recalls taking his whole family out to Spur after getting his first salary.
Sangweni, who made his name at Lamontville Golden Arrows after joining from Nathi Lions, reveals how he celebrated his first salary in professional football.
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"Nathi Lions were still in the Vodacom League back then. My salary was paid into a bank account, I was never paid with an envelope."
Who you signed for?
"I had signed for Arrows, they signed me from Nathi Lions. So, my first salary at the professional level was at Lamontville Golden Arrows. That was in 2005."
How much was it?
"R50 000. Golden Arrows pays very well, and I was no longer at school, I was like 20 years of age."
How did I celebrate?
"The first thing I did was to take out my mother and my siblings to Spur restaurant and told them to order whatever they wanted to eat that day.
"We enjoyed ourselves. Our family and our neighborhood had finally produced their first PSL player. That was something that needed to be celebrated.
"That was something that was not expected from a family everybody thought would not amount to anything after the passing of our father.
"We grew up living from hand to mouth, being raised by our mother who was doing odd jobs to survive.
"As the eldest, I had to take over my father's role. I bought my mother new furniture and got rid of the old one."
What did I buy with it?
"For myself, I bought two female goats and one billy goat. Every month-end, I bought three goats. I remember with my second pay cheque I bought cows."
Did it last you the whole month?
"Fortunately I'm not someone who likes things, I'm always indoors, so I used my money to look after the family.
"I'm not saying I was a saint, but I knew what I wanted out of life."