Portuguese-based exciting Amajita goalkeeper Fletcher Smythe-Lowe, 18, hasn't ruled out the possibility of returning to SA to ply his trade with the club he supported growing up – Kaizer Chiefs.
Smythe-Lowe played a telling role in Amajita's historic Under-20 Afcon triumph, also winning the Goalkeeper of the Tournament gong at the tournament, where SA beat Morocco 1-0 in the final to lift the trophy in Cairo on Sunday.
"I supported Chiefs when I was younger and it's a possibility in the future [to play for them]," Smythe-Lowe said as Amajita received a hero's welcome at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday, where prominent football fans like Botha Msila, Masilo Machaka and Saddam Maake, among others, led hundreds of fans and the players' families in celebrations.
Smythe-Lowe is currently on the books of Portuguese topflight side Estoril Praia's Under-19 squad. The Amajita No.1 may have already attracted interest from some of the big teams on the globe after his Afcon heroics.
However, he's in no rush for bigger things, saying he wanted to wind down a bit in Portugal and continue working hard as he targets playing at the U-20 World Cup in Chile from September 27 to October 19 this year.
"Now for me is to go back to home in Portugal and rest for a week or two. It's always a possibility [to join big clubs] but I am only 18, so I have time to work hard and see where the future takes me. It's very important for me to work hard, stay humble because I want to play in the World Cup,'' Smythe-Lowe noted.
The shot-stopper also narrated how he ended up in Portugal with his family, implying before leaving SA in 2020, he wasn't taking football seriously.
"I left SA during the 2020 [Covid-19] pandemic when my mom had a sabbatical, so we decided to go there [Portugal] for a year and see if it'd work for us because we had been there in the past. I was playing for Ubuntu in Cape Town [before leaving SA],'' Smythe-Lowe reflected.
"To be honest when I left, I wasn't thinking about professional football...I was just thinking about what's best for me and my family and then obviously, if you put in the work, opportunities come. I didn't really have this [playing professional football] in mind."
SowetanLIVE
Amajita keeper not ruling out possibility of returning to SA, play for Chiefs
Image: Weam Mostafa/BackpagePix
Portuguese-based exciting Amajita goalkeeper Fletcher Smythe-Lowe, 18, hasn't ruled out the possibility of returning to SA to ply his trade with the club he supported growing up – Kaizer Chiefs.
Smythe-Lowe played a telling role in Amajita's historic Under-20 Afcon triumph, also winning the Goalkeeper of the Tournament gong at the tournament, where SA beat Morocco 1-0 in the final to lift the trophy in Cairo on Sunday.
"I supported Chiefs when I was younger and it's a possibility in the future [to play for them]," Smythe-Lowe said as Amajita received a hero's welcome at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday, where prominent football fans like Botha Msila, Masilo Machaka and Saddam Maake, among others, led hundreds of fans and the players' families in celebrations.
Smythe-Lowe is currently on the books of Portuguese topflight side Estoril Praia's Under-19 squad. The Amajita No.1 may have already attracted interest from some of the big teams on the globe after his Afcon heroics.
However, he's in no rush for bigger things, saying he wanted to wind down a bit in Portugal and continue working hard as he targets playing at the U-20 World Cup in Chile from September 27 to October 19 this year.
"Now for me is to go back to home in Portugal and rest for a week or two. It's always a possibility [to join big clubs] but I am only 18, so I have time to work hard and see where the future takes me. It's very important for me to work hard, stay humble because I want to play in the World Cup,'' Smythe-Lowe noted.
The shot-stopper also narrated how he ended up in Portugal with his family, implying before leaving SA in 2020, he wasn't taking football seriously.
"I left SA during the 2020 [Covid-19] pandemic when my mom had a sabbatical, so we decided to go there [Portugal] for a year and see if it'd work for us because we had been there in the past. I was playing for Ubuntu in Cape Town [before leaving SA],'' Smythe-Lowe reflected.
"To be honest when I left, I wasn't thinking about professional football...I was just thinking about what's best for me and my family and then obviously, if you put in the work, opportunities come. I didn't really have this [playing professional football] in mind."
SowetanLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos