Emile Witbooi added to Cape Town City’s roster
Emile Witbooi, the Midfielder and Player of the Tournament at the Cape Town Engen Cup Tournament in June, has been included in Cape Town City’s roster for the 2024/25 Premier Soccer League (PSL) sponsored by Betway Premiership.
The talented 15-year-old will don the number 50 jersey as he continues to captivate football enthusiasts across South Africa, just eight months after Cape Town City revealed that he had joined them from the Transnet School of Excellence.
Witbooi is the son of former Cape Town Spurs player, Bradley Ralani, who recorded 104 appearances for the Blue and Gold Army from 2018 to 2022.
Ralani was also with Mamelodi Sundowns, where he became a fan favourite, making 18 appearances during the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons, before departing the club to the surprise of many supporters.
From a very young age, Emile Witbooi has represented South Africa at youth level.
He also played in the highly competitive Gauteng Development League (GDL), widely regarded as one of the most advanced development leagues in Africa. The competition showcases premier talent from Gauteng’s professional clubs, including Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns, SuperSport United, and TS Galaxy, as well as esteemed academies, like Remember Elite Sports Academy (RESA).
In recent friendly matches against Lesotho, played at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto Campus, Witbooi was one of the key players for the South African u17 national team. He helped the side to successive victories by 4-0 and 3-1 margins, and was on the score sheet.
Witbooi will again be in action for the SA national side at the u17 Fifa TDS Six Nations Tournament, which will be played in Côte d’Ivoire from 2-7 September.
In July, SuperSport reported that Cape Town City FC had extended an invitation to the 15-year-old to train with the first team after representing the club in the Multichoice Diski Challenge. That invitation recognised Witbooi’s potential and opened up the possibility that he could follow in his father’s footsteps in the near future.
The club’s decision to include Witbooi at first team level is significant as South African professional teams have historically been reluctant to grant young players opportunities, which has not reflected well on the state of football in the country.
Typically, in South Africa, players aged 24, or even as old as 26 are still considered young prospects, which is in stark contrast to the practices seen in European and South American football.
It is a balancing act: presenting players with an opportunity to develop while also safeguarding them from too much public scrutiny.
In recent years, a promising shift has begun taking root, with South African clubs making bold decisions to offer contracts to younger players while integrating them into the squads. Relebohile Mofokeng, aged 19, has made a significant impact at Orlando Stadium in the colours of the Buccaneers, while coach Gavin Hunt, of SuperSport United, has provided opportunities for young talents like Shandre Campbell, also 19, who has since moved to Club Brugge, and currently plays for Club NXT in the Challenger Pro League, the second tier of Belgian football.
Witnooi will be guided by the esteemed coach Eric Tinkler who possesses extensive knowledge of South African football, having played both domestically and internationally. A hard-tackling midfielder, Tinkler earned 45 caps for Bafana Bafana and was a key contributor to the South African national team’s victorious 1996 Africa Cup of Nations campaign.
