South Africa and the entire African football fraternity are mourning the demise of Bafana Bafana star Phil Masinga, who passed away after a long illness.
In December Masinga was admitted to the Tshepong Hospital in Klerksdorp with an “undisclosed illness”.
The late South African player played in the Premier League for Leeds United for two years after joining from Mamelodi Sundowns in 1994.
“It is with great sadness that the club has learnt of former striker Phil Masinga’s passing. The thoughts of everyone at LUFC are with his family and friends,” the club said on Twitter.
Masinga was signed for Leeds by then manager Howard Wilkinson at the same time as his compatriot Lucas Radebe. He left for Swiss side St Gallen in 2006 and went on to play for Salernitana and Bari in Italy.
He won 58 caps for South Africa, helped them win the African Nations Cup on home soil in 1996. He also scored the decisive goal against Congo which sealed South Africa’s qualification for the 1998 World Cup, the first time they had qualified for the tournament.
Phil Masinga during the 2018 SAFA Press Conference at the SAFA House, Johannesburg on 26 July 2018 ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix“Sad day for South African football. A loyal servant of the game, on and off the field of play,” Dr Danny Jordaan, the South African Football Association president, said on Twitter.
