“I just didn’t care about football anymore,” said the former Bafana midfielder.
Andile Jali says he was ready to hang up his boots before he joined Chippa United.
The former Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder joined the Chilli Boys as a free agent last month, having spent over six months without a club after parting ways with Moroka Swallows in December 2023.
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Speaking to the SABC, the ex-Bafana Bafana star revealed that he had given up on football and was considering retiring before he got a call from Chippa.
“When Chippa approached me, I agreed to join them, then they told me they thought I was going to join a team in Johannesburg but I had told them that I was retired. Chippa is my home team, so I needed to go home and get some fresh air. I want to retire at home,” Jali said.
“To be honest I didn’t want to retire but a lot was going on. So, when Chippa approached, I thought let me go home and retire in a good space. Mike [Makaab], my agent was the one who was talking to all these teams, I just didn’t care about football anymore, I didn’t even ask him which teams were looking to sign me because I was just over football.”
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Jali could make his debut for Chippa against his former team Orlando Pirates at Orlando Stadium on 14 September.
