On Monday, April 1, 2019, South Africa woke up to the devastating news of the passing of Free State Stars midfielder Sinethemba Jantjie.
Jantjie was involved in a fatal car accident in Bethlehem in the Free State in the early hours of Monday morning.
He was born on the 15th of February 1989 in Whittlesea in the Eastern Cape, and had been on the books of Ea Lla Koto since July 2016.
Jantjie was a late bloomer as he was handed his first professional contract as a 27-year-old by Stars.
This was after his impressive displays for National First Division (NFD) side Mombela United whom he joined in 2014.
Backpagepix
Jantjie played a huge role as a Mbombela United player when they won promotion from the ABC Motsepe League to the NFD in July 2015.
After initially struggling to make an impact in the elite league, Jantjie slowly regained his old form and became a regular at Ea Lla Koto.
He passed on having scored four goals in 24 appearances in all competitions this season.
Overall, Jantjie made 76 appearances across all PSL competitions between 2016 and 2019. He scored eight goals and registered seven assists in the process.
The speedy winger was instrumental as Ea Lla Koto won the Nedbank Cup title in May 2018 - this was their first major piece of silverware since 1994.
In January 2019, Jantjie signed a pre-contract with Bidvest Wits, and he was set to join his new teammates in Braamfontein on July 1, 2019.
The move would have certainly helped increase his chances of breaking into the Bafana Bafana setup as Wits are slowly becoming a force to be reckoned with in South African football.
Jantjie was also a qualified teacher after having completed his studies with the University of South Africa (Unisa).
However, football was his first love and it is for this reason he chose football over teaching.
According to Stars, Jantjie is survived by a sister.