The 30-year-old Amakhosi star discusses how he ended up playing football after he had quit the game as a teenager
Kaizer Chiefs star Khama Billiat has revealed how he used to hide from coaches before he signed a professional contract to play football.
The 30-year-old attacking midfielder is among the key players for the Soweto-based giants as they reached the Caf Champions League final where they lost 3-0 to Al Ahly in Morocco.
Despite missing matches in the Caf campaign due to injury, Billiat featured as a substitute in the final against the Egyptian giants where Pitso Mosimane's charges earned them a second straight trophy.
The Zimbabwean forward has now explained how he almost ended up not playing football and how he kept hiding from coaches.
What has been said?
“I stopped playing for a year when I was 19 years old,” Billiat said as quoted by idiskitimes.co.za. “I had a friend, who had a shop in town and then his mom gave us a laptop and we were making good money.
“There was a coach in my area, who didn’t like that. This coach came looking for me [because he wanted me for] this other club and play football. But football was not there (for me) at that moment, to be honest. At that moment, I was helping my family and it was working.
“It got to a point that every time [the coach came], everyone in that complex told me I should hide.”
On how he signed his first professional contract, Billiat said: “But one day, I said ok it's fine. He already got me football boots and he said I must go. And then coach Lloyd Chitembwe, who was the coach for CAPS United said ‘just come, let’s go’, like a joke.
“Next thing [he says] he needs to sign me, he liked me so much.
“So I signed there in the car. I played for CAPS for just two months because it was pre-season and I think I played just three games.”