‘Don’t follow me, follow the Birds,’ says Lesufi as he resigns from Swallows

Panyaza Lesufi has officially resigned from his duties as DStv Premiership side Swallows FC (nee Moroka Swallows) to focus on his political career. 

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Lesufi is the Gauteng MEC for Education, a role he has been praised for. But since he has been elected as ANC provincial chairman for Gauteng his duties have doubled ,hence his resignation from the Dube Birds. 

Panyaza dabbed as Swallows president after helping in resuscitating the club from the doldrums three years ago. 

He went public on his pledge to help the club come back after it had been relegated to the SAB leagues. Lesufi managed to get David Mogashoa to fund the club and they bought Maccabi FC’s status to the GladAfrica Championship. 

The Dube Birds had a good campaign in the country’s first league and won automatic promotions to the premiership where they have had both good and bad fortunes for the past two years. 

But with Lesufi being provincial ANC chair, he is in line to be the next premier of Gauteng and will lead the party’s electioneering campaign from next year until the 2024 elections.

“With my new responsibilities, today, painfully so, I had to resign my position as president of Swallows FC,” wrote Lesufi on his social media platforms on Sunday. 

“I wish the team well. Don’t follow me, follow the birds,” he added. Swallows will definitely miss Lesufi’s leadership especially after surviving a nervous season where they avoided relegation through the playoffs. 

His presence in the playoffs games is said to have been a big influence in the team managing to do well in the playoffs. 

He recently publicly admitted the club’s financial difficulties and put the blame squarely on the PSL’s door, saying they declined Swallows a potential sponsorship from Telkom which could have made a huge difference.