Promising midfielder, Steven Mendes, has left the Kaizer Chiefs youth development academy to join Swedish top-tier side, Hammarby IF Fotbollförening, usually known simply as Hammarby.

The 16-year-old Reserve Team player had a successful two-week trial with the Stockholm-based club from 11-25 August, and his impressive performance convinced them to sign him up immediately.

He joined Chiefs in August 2022 when he was registered for the U15 SAFA Gauteng Development League (GDL) team. He was promoted to the U17s earlier this year. He was also registered for the Club’s reserve team that competes in the DStv Diski Challenge (DDC), for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons.

Mendes will now switch from his hometown Johannesburg to Johanneshov, the area of the Swedish capital where the Hammarby’s Tele2 Arena is located.

“Steven is a player with tremendous potential and the type of temperament to make it as a professional footballer, so we are excited at the prospect of him displaying his unique qualities on the European stage, said the Amakhosi Sporting Director, Kaizer Motaung Jnr., adding, “We are proud of him and wish him every success on his exciting journey. It is another feather in the cap of the Kaizer Chiefs development structures, which continue to excel in cultivating the potential of young players and demonstrates the excellent level of our academy project state.”