Ten young players who emerged in 2024-25 as future stars for SA football

Amajita’s victory in the 2025 Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) was more confirmation there is finally a good stream of young talent emerging in South African football after years of the well having dried up. 

South Africa Under-20 coach Raymond Mdaka credited the DStv Diski Challenge (DDC) reserve and under-23 league, established in 2014, as a huge factor in bringing through emerging young stars in a strong, competitive environment — and the role it played in easing the job of talent-spotting. 

Indeed, gone are the days of 24-year-olds being considered “young stars”. While Mdaka’s side that became the first junior South African team to win an Afcon only had a few players who are being fielded with any regularity by their Betway Premiership clubs, plenty of 20-somethings or younger have been playing in top-flight football. 

One, Orlando Pirates' burgeoning-talent centreback Mbekezeli Mbokazi, could not be with Mdaka’s side as he was held back at a crucial stage of Bucs’ season chasing the championship. 

TimesLIVE Premium looks at 10 young players who emerged as stars of the future in the 2024-25 season: 

Fletcher Lowe, 18, Estoril Praia U-23s 

The Amajita goalkeeper set the scene alight at the U-20 Afcon in Egypt in May with his at times spectacular blocks in goal that had the mark of a far older and more experienced goalkeeper. He won the Goalkeeper of the Tournament, conceding two goals in South Africa’s seven games and none in the knockout stage, where he was man of the match in the 1-0 final win against Morocco in Cairo. 

The product of the Ubuntu Football Academy in Cape Town moved to Portugal with is parents where he found an amateur club near where he lived in Lisbon, Oeiras, and impressed so much he quickly moved up to Alverca, then in the third division, spent a year at Benfica and now plays for top-flight Estoril’s under-23s even though he’s only 18. 

Tylon Smith, 20, Stellenbosch FC 

The standout centreback for Mdaka’s team in Morocco won Player of the Tournament, leaving Smith with the world at his feet. His pace, timing in the challenge and excellent positional play combined with superb distribution ability were arguably the major factor in Amajita lifting the trophy. 

His performances were more impressive given Smith shouldered the central defensive responsibility in the absence of Mbokazi. When South Africa were under immense pressure in their three knockout games, Smith and Lowe repelled the attacks.

The 20-year-old is yet to break into Stellenbosch FC, being kept out of coach Steve Barker's first team by the ultra-dependable, experienced duo of Thabo Moloisane and Ismaël Touré. But Smith was an important player in the Stellies under-23 team that ended second to Kaizer Chiefs in the 2024-25 DStv Diski Challenge (DDC) and is set for senior action soon. 

Neo Rapoo, 19, SuperSport United 

The SuperSport United left-back or left wing was another huge player for Amajita. Most of the South Africans’ play and attacking impetus was provided by Rapoo up the left flank, and he was the provider of almost all the set pieces with his sweet left boot. While he loved to rampage forward on the overlap in the games where he was fielded at left-back, providing pinpoint crosses, Rapoo's class from his grounding in the SuperSport United academy showed as he was seldom caught out of position in defence. 

He is one of the players in Mdaka’s team earning decent game time, with six appearances in all competitions for SuperSport in 2022-23 at just 16, one game last season and 15 this campaign. A long-time DDC player, he helped SuperSport to second place to Stellenbosch in 2021-22 when he was just 17, then the title in 2022-23. 

Shakeel April, 19, Cape Town City 

April’s classic wing play lit up the stage for Amajita in Egypt, his ability to beat and eliminate players and create numbers in attack often breaking down defences and creating scoring opportunities. 

He has been steadily making ground in the Cape Town City first team, with five appearances in all competitions in 2023-24 and 10 this season. 

Mohau Nkota, 20, Orlando Pirates 

One of the most exciting strikers or wingers to emerge in South African football in recent seasons, Nkota had a breakthrough campaign as one of the young stars lighting up coach Jose Riveiro’s exciting Orlando Pirates in 2024-25. He played 39 games across all competitions in 2024-25 — a huge return for a 20-year-old — as Bucs challenged Mamelodi Sundowns closely until the final weeks for the Premiership title, won the MTN8, lost in the Nedbank Cup final to Kaizer Chiefs and, most impressively, reached the Caf Champions League semifinals. 

Nkota only scored seven goals, but that number only tells half the story. His forward combination with more established 20-year-old Relebohile Mofokeng earned the tag “Cocomelons”, after the popular children's YouTube channel, as they terrorised defences. Some of these displays came in the Champions League against notoriously tough North African defensive units, including Nkota’s superb brace in a crucial group phase away win against CR Belouizdad and the quarterfinal first-leg winner against MC Alger, both in Algeria.

Nkota's season was crowned when he made his senior Bafana Bafana debut off the bench in this month’s friendly draw against Tanzania, then, starting against Mozambique days later, provided both assists in a 2-0 win. 

Mbekezeli Mbokazi, 18, Orlando Pirates 

So much real talent is being mentioned here that to mention Mbokazi as perhaps the biggest prospect really says something about Pirates’ physically impressive, 18-year-old centreback. Bucs' development are clearly doing something right, but that’s a whole separate story for another day. First there was Lyle Foster, now a host of young talents to follow. Of them, Mbokazi might have one of the biggest futures.

The young warrior from Hluhluwe in northern KwaZulu-Natal made his maiden season in the Premiership his own, his stats made more impressive given he only made his senior debut on March 5 in a 1-0 Premiership away win against Chippa United. On the 16th he won man of the match in a 2-1 win against Sundowns at Orlando Stadium and suddenly everyone knew the name Mbekezeli Mbokazi. 

He played 19 matches in all competitions from March, four in the Champions League, 12 in the league and three in the Nedbank Cup, becoming Riveiro’s go-to man at the heart of the defence. He made his Bafana senior debut in this month’s win against Mozambique. 

Simphiwe Selepe, 20, Orlando Pirates 

Selepe burst onto the scene late in the season but did more than enough in a brief space of time to suggest he is another big one from Bucs for the future. 

The central midfielder made his debut as Riveiro threw in some youngsters in Pirates’ 2-1 Soweto derby win over Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium in early May 3, having been officially promoted from the youth structure the day before. Days later he made another appearance off the bench as Bucs beat Lamontville Golden Arrows 2-1, the quality of his touches setting tongues wagging.

By the end of the campaign he’d played six matches and scored a goal — and done enough for Hugo Broos to call him up to the developmental squad for this month’s friendlies. He started against Tanzania and dictated play from midfield like a seasoned professional alongside clubmate Thalente Mbatha.

Malibongwe Khoza, 21, Mamelodi Sundowns 

Promoted at the start of the season, 21-year-old Khoza fitted like a glove into superstar-studded Sundowns and kept out more experienced campaigners for most of the 2024-25 campaign as the Brazilians cantered to Premiership title No 8 on the trot.

He can make mistakes but a return by the end of the season of 30 matches played in all competitions (18 in the league, nine in the Champions League, two in the Nedbank Cup and one in the Carling Knockout) for the best club in the country heralds yet another young centreback talent with a big future. So many games played in the Champions League for the losing finalists can only stand Khoza in good stead and he is about to get more huge exposure at the Fifa Cup World Cup in the US.

Khulumani Ndamane, 21, TS Galaxy

Ndamane’s national team career started inauspiciously. Not so widely known outside football punditry as he plies his trade with TS Galaxy — through surely not for much longer — Ndamane was called up by Broos in a major show of faith for the World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Benin in March but did not have a passport and missed his chance.

Another strapping young centreback with excellent qualities, this is a player Kaizer Chiefs let slip away as he spent a season playing for the club’s DDC in 2023-24 before joining Galaxy. He was a huge part in the Rockets ending fifth in the Premiership. That was why he got a second chance soon enough in this month’s friendlies and, starting against Tanzania, Ndamane might well have done enough to be one of the players Broos said he will have his eye on for more call-ups soon.

There are four centrebacks on this list, so the future is really bright in that position, with perhaps the best emerging players since Lucas Radebe, Neil Tovey and Mark Fish were Bafana’s heart of defence.

Wandile Duba, 20, Kaizer Chiefs 

Chiefs had a fairly woeful season apart from winning the Nedbank Cup and coach Nasreddine Nabi seems fortunate to have escaped with his job. Yet Wandile Duba had his breakout season in the gold and black, scoring five goals in 25 matches in all competitions.

He blew hot and cold — but to be fair, so did his team as they finished a poor ninth in the Premiership, just a place above last season’s worst-ever 10th. But winger or striker Duba at times also carried Chiefs’ attack — no mean feat for such a young player at such a pressure club, especially when the results aren’t coming.

He progressed from eight games the campaign before and if Amakhosi can be a bit more impressive in Nabi’s second season, so could Duba.