Where is Orlando Pirates defender Bongani Sam? 

Orlando Pirates sent defender Bongani Sam on loan to fellow Soweto giants Moroka Swallows at the start of the season.

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Sam was thought to be one of the players have Swallows released during the January transfer window.

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The bulk of the Swallows squad went on strike in December, an act that has since cost them their jobs. This strike saw the Swallows players withdraw from their last two games of 2023, which proved costly to the club. The PSL ended up fining the Dube Birds a cool R1 million for failing to honour those fixtures. They did, however, receive the leniency of having R600 000 of it suspended. With the club already cash-strapped, that was a sanction they could ill afford. They then also decided to take action on the players who had decided against playing, effectively firing them. Furthermore, the league granted three points to both of their opponents, Mamelodi Sundowns and Golden Arrows.

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The players had decided to boycott those two games, as they had not been paid their salaries. After a process of internal disciplinary hearings, a list of 22 players who had been dismissed by Swallows started making the rounds. The list featured some notable names such as Daniel Akpeyi, Sam, Ntsako Makhubela and Dumisani Zuma. Akpeyi has since returned, while Sam and Makhubela are still looking to resolve their futures.

Sam not at Pirates nor Swallows

Now while the other players have either found or reported to be close to finding a solution, not Sam. According to Soccer-Laduma, the left back is in a limbo. 

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“It was very unfortunate that he found himself in that situation (at Swallows). Maybe he could have been one of the players to come back to the team but you know he was on loan from Orlando Pirates and his situation was different because it had to involve another team. From what I know he is not at Swallows and he is not at Pirates. I really don’t know what will happen between now and the end of the season because the only team he can go to is Pirates at the moment and he is not there.” Said the source. 

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A second source confirms Sam had not returned to Pirates.

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“He has not been at Pirates yet. Yes, he belongs to Pirates and he should go back there but I think there are other issues which need to be sorted out first. It’s sad that he is finding himself in this situation as a midfield player star when things were going very well for him at Pirates. But hopefully he will rejoin his team before the end season because he belongs there,” said the second source.

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It remains to be seen if Sam will return to either Pirates or Swallows before the end of the season.