I’ll always be grateful to ‘Birds’– retired Felix

MBABANE – Royal Leopard’s retired marksman Felix Badenhorst says his football career thrived at Mbabane Swallows.

Leopard at the start of this week confirmed reports that the veteran striker had informed the team of his plans to hang up his boots after years of dazzling the country with his talent. The team is yet to make an official statement on the move.

However, Eswatini Television got hold of the player who said his football career had bloomed at the capital city giants Mbabane Swallows whom he played for after leaving Manzini Wanderers but before joining the police side two seasons ago.

‘Fela’ said he would like to thank the late Swallows boss Victor Gamedze, former Chairman Princess Lungile, Archbishop Bheki Lukhele, Sandile ‘Beyond 2000’ Zwane and the late spokesperson Sibusiso Manana among others for their contribution to his football career.

He singled out these names for the role they played in his development.

“At Swallows, that is where I came and started winning trophies. There was some direction of what was happening in my football career. I will be grateful to Mbabane Swallows for that period I’ve spent and to all the players I played with,” he said.

They include Tony ‘TT’ Tsabedze, Lwazi ‘Zidane’ Maziya, Banele ‘Pupu’ Sikhondze and Njabulo ‘D4D’ Ndlovu among others he mentioned. Also on the list are Sandile ‘Nkomishi’ Ginindza, Mandla Palma, Sifiso ‘Mr Cool’ Mabila, Sanele ‘Abidal’ Mkhweli, Sandile ‘Shoe Shine’ Hlatjwako, Sabelo ‘Sikhali’ Ndzinisa and Wonder ‘Samba Jive’ Nhleko.

Not only did the 33-year-old play locally but he also plied his trade in South Africa with teams such as TS Galaxy and Mbombela United as well as AS Vita in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

He excelled while playing for the senior men’s national team Sihlangu where he was among the group of players who around 2017 won a bronze medal at the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) Men’s Championship. This performance was followed by the country’s record 88^th FIFA ranking which remains Eswatini’s highest. It was also where he later lost his position as the leading all-time scorer in the COSAFA Men’s tournament after ascending to that position back in 2021.