In our exciting feature My Welcome to the League Moment, KickOff catches up with former Moroka Swallows and Mamelodi Sundowns striker Lungisani Ndlela on his start as a professional.
The former South Africa international who these days works as a Correctional Officer in Emalahleni, also played for the likes of Maritzburg City, University of Pretoria, SuperSport United and United FC before retiring in 2011.
What was your welcome to the league moment?
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"What made me realise I was now playing with the big boys, it's when I was given the Moroka Swallows tracksuits.
"It's exciting when a kit manager tells you, this is your bag, and you are going to wear number 20…I arrived at Swallows wearing some cheap soccer boots that had cost me R350. And now there I was, given a brand new pair of boots from Umbro.
"The team was sponsored by Umbro then. I was now going to play on TV. I didn't have a phone when I joined Swallows, while some of my new teammates owned 3310 Nokia cell phones.
"I was now playing with white players or white coaches who used to swear a lot. Every time a white man shouted, I ran. I was nervous.
"Those were the moments that made me realise I was now a professional footballer."
"Hey, you see players from Jomo Cosmos and players from Santos kicked me a lot. They gave me a tough time.
"At Cosmos, Andrew Rabutla would be assigned to me, they would tell him straight, kick this dog.