Football in South Africa has been steadily growing over the years. Today, Bafana Bafana can boast of being one of the best footballing nations on the continent, and of course, that is thanks to a lot of factors including great support from the fans, good coaching, and quality players. In this article, though, we want to focus on the players.
Who are South Africa’s best players in 2025? Let us look at the top 3.
1. Ronwen Williams
The South Africa number 1 is number 1 on this list today. He is a very solid goalkeeper and arguably South Africa’s biggest export right now when it comes to football. In fact, he has an argument for being the greatest goalkeeper in the country’s history. He has won the South African Premier Division twice, and fans are already betting on him making it 3 times this year using betting sites with welcome bonus in South Africa.
At the 2023 AFCON, he saved 4 penalties in the quarter finals shootout, to help Bafana Bafana reach the semi finals of the competition for the first time in 24 years. He ultimately helped South Africa to a 3rd place finish at the 2023 AFCON and that won him the Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament and African Goalkeeper of the Year awards.
He was also nominated for the Yashin Trophy in 2024, making him the first South African to ever be nominated for a Ballon d’Or award. The captain is really breaking grounds for South African football.
Speaking of players breaking grounds for South African football…
2. Lyle Foster
This is one of the few players in the Bafana Bafana team with ample European experience. This dude has really toured the European continent. He currently plays for Burnley in England, but he has also played for Monaco, Cercle Brugge, and Vitória Guimarães in France, Belgium, and Portugal respectively.
When Foster moved to Burnley in 2023 at the age of 22 for a total package of 10 million euros, he became the most expensive South African footballer in history, beating Benni McCarthy’s 6 million-euro transfer from Ajax to Celta Vigo in 1999.
That alone shows you how good Foster is. He recently opened the scoring in South Africa’s World Cup qualifier against second place Benin Republic.
3. Teboho Mokoena
Mokoena is definitely one of South Africa’s most valuable players right now. The 28-year-old who came up from Supersport United’s academy but currently plays for Mamelodi Sundowns is surely one of the best midfielders in Africa right now.
His passing is good, he often has a good long-range shot, and he’s something of a free kick specialist. He scored a really beautiful goal from a free kick in the 95th minute of the round of 16 game at the 2023 AFCON to confirm the elimination of favorites and World Cup semi finalists Morocco. That’s a moment South Africans won’t be forgetting in a hurry.
But who would you say is your favorite South African player, though?
