Hlanti explains Swallows switch after Chiefs exit

Bafana Bafana left-back Sifiso Hlanti says a number of teams were interested in his services but he chose a side based in Johannesburg because of his personal commitments in the City of Gold.

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Hlanti trained with Kaizer Chiefs in pre-season after the sale of Bidvest Wits to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila hoping to sign for the Soweto giants but Amakhosi were subsequently banned from recruiting any new players until July 2021.

The Bafana Bafana left-back was released from the Naturena camp along with former teammates Phathutshedzo Nange and Brandon Petersen. Hlanti joined Swallows a day after with the Dube Birds chairman David Mogashoa announced the news on Twitter.

“I joined Chiefs because coach Gavin said to me ‘I think it’s best for you to train than to stay at home so you can keep yourself fit,” Hlanti told SAFM.

“Training with Chiefs was to gain fitness and better than seating at home and doing nothing. So I chose to go and training with the club. There is no arrangement with Chiefs to say I will come back, that’s why I signed a two-year option with Swallows. What people said are just rumours. I was just training with Chiefs to keep my fitness, there were no hard feelings when I left Chiefs.”

Hlanti agreed to a two-year-deal with Swallows, with an option to extend his stay for one year. The former AmaZulu man revealed he had a one-on-one meeting with chairman Mogashoa after joining the side.

The Bafana Bafana man says the sale of Wits came as a shock to a lot of the players who were still contracted to the side at the time, but admits that is all in the past after he shifts his focus to Swallows FC.

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