Relebohile Mofokeng walked away with twin accolades, with Orlando Pirates dominating the winners’ podium in the 2024/25 Premier Soccer League (PSL) Awards.
The ceremony celebrating a highly successful domestic campaign was held on Tuesday night. Several standout stars were honoured on the day, with the Buccaneers featuring heavily among the winners.
After yet another outstanding season, which confirmed his steep upward trajectory since joining the Buccaneers as part of their DDC outfit, Mofokeng emerged among the big winners on the night. His impressive showings in the 2024/25 MTN8 helped deliver an unprecedented third successive title to the Soweto Giants, and he was duly rewarded for his contribution by being named as the competition’s Last Man Standing, beating teammate Deon Hotto as well as Stellenbosch’s Fawaaz Basadien to the award after netting twice and assisting as many goals in four matches.
He added the Betway Premiership Young Player of the Season to his haul ahead of just losing out to Mamelodi Sundowns’ Lucas Ribeiro Costa in the Players’ Player of the Season and PSL Footballer of the Season categories.
More awards however, went the way of the Soweto Giants as Sipho Chaine earned the Betway Premiership Goalkeeper of the Season award, while Nkosinathi Sibisi was named Defender of the Season. Both contributed to the club’s impressive defensive showing throughout the campaign, where they only conceded 20 goals in 28 league matches. More excellence further up the pitch also proved instrumental to the Buccaneers’ cause, and defensive midfielder Makhehleni Makhaula was recognised for his contributions in walking away with the Midfielder of the Season accolade.
Pirates’ deep run in the Nedbank Cup yielded more reasons to celebrate for the club. Despite falling on the final hurdle in their pursuit of another three-peat, one of their standout players in the tournament was recognised in the form of Mbekezeli Mbokazi. The 19-year-old defender was impressive in what was his breakout season in first-team football and was rewarded with the competition’s Most Promising Player of the Tournament award ahead of fellow Buccaneers Mofokeng and Mohau Nkota.
Another rising star also walked away with an award. Bucs Reserves striker Siphamandla Msezane’s 15 goals in the DStv Diski Challenge netted him the competition’s Golden Boot, following in the footsteps of fellow striker Boitumelo Radiopane, who earned the award in the 2021/22 season.
That made it seven awards on the night for the Soweto Giants, who return to competitive action this weekend. They begin the 2025/26 season with the defence of their MTN8 title as they host Polokwane City in the quarter-finals at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
