Cape Town – Relebohile Mofokeng has capped a memorable 2026 by being named Men’s Footballer of the Year by the South African Football Journalists’ Association.
SAFJA announced the award on Monday, describing it as “a season to remember” for the 21-year-old. It’s hard to argue with that.
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Mofokeng played a big part in Orlando Pirates’ Betway Premiership title win, which ended the club’s 14-year wait to be crowned league champions. At the PSL awards in July, he won Footballer of the Season, Players’ Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season.
𝔸 𝕊𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕠𝕟 𝕥𝕠 ℝ𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣
Congratulations to Relebohile Mofokeng, our 2026 SAFJA Men’s Footballer of the Year!
#SAFJAwards2026 #Hollywoodbets https://t.co/T2Aj1bHCAV
— SAFJA (@The_Safja) November 9, 2026
He then helped Bafana Bafana make history at the World Cup. He started in the No.10 role in the 1-0 win over South Korea, which sent South Africa into the knockout stage for the first time. Their run ended against Canada in the round of 32.
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Days later, he completed his move to Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise on a four-year deal, and he has settled quickly in Europe. He was nominated for the Belgian Pro League’s Player of the Month award for October, and came off the bench at the weekend as Union beat Genk 1-0 to go back to the top of the table.
The award comes as Mofokeng joins up with Bafana Bafana for next week’s AFCON qualifiers against Kenya, with the first leg at Orlando Stadium on 13 November.
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Picture: Facebook/ Kohler
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