Emile Witbooi makes Betway Premiership debut

Emile Witbooi‘s football dreams are rapidly being realised and, on Sunday, he achieved an important milestone.

At the age of only 16 years, six months, and two days, he became the youngest player to represent Cape Town City in the Betway Premiership.

Witbooi was brought on as a substitute in the team’s 0-2 defeat to Amazulu, for whom Elmo Kambindu scored in the first half and Nkosinathi Radebe in the second.

The past 12 months have been filled with outstanding achievements for the Cape Town City youngster. At the beginning of 2024, he enrolled in the Cape Town City Academy His talent immediately caught the eye, which earned him a place on Cape Town City’s first team roster for the 2024/25 season.

He was a member of Raymond Mdaka’s u20 national team, Amajita, which won the u20 Cosafa Championship in Mozambique, in October 2024, defeating Zambia 2-0 to secure qualification for the forthcoming u20 CAF Africa Cup of Nations.

Witbooi also turned out for the u17 national team, Amajimbos, in the u17 Cosafa Championship. They were eliminated in the semi-finals, going down 1-2 to Zambia, which meant they missed out on the u17 CAF Africa Cup of Nations.

That disappointment was overturned, however, when CAF decided to expand the continental tournament’s final from 12 to 16 teams. Amajimbos were included with the Cosafa Championship finalists, Angola and Zambia. It will give Witbooi another opportunity to show his worth against the best talent in Africa.

At the end of 2024, Witbooi’s achievements gained further recognition when he was included in the SuperSport Schools Class of 24, a prestigious accolade that recognises the exceptional talent of 24 top athletes across various sports disciplines.

In February, Roc Nation Sports announced that they had signed Emile Witbooi.

The sports agency, established in 2013 by the renowned hip-hop mogul Shawn Carter, known as Jay-Z, represents many prominent sports stars, including Springbok captain and two-time Rugby World Cup champion, Siya Kolisi, NBA players, such as LaMelo Ball, South African basketball player Samkelo Cele, and Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior.

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Siya Pongco

A passionate reader and dedicated writer, Siya possesses three degrees from Rhodes University including a Postgraduate Diploma at Rhodes University. He also played amateur cricket and soccer, both during his university years. While honing his journalism skills at Grocott’s Mail in Makhanda, he developed a profound interest in the community’s response to crime. Additionally, he covered topics such as art/culture and student politics at Rhodes University in 2022. In his spare time, Siya can be found exploring galleries, dining at restaurants, indulging in literature, taking photographs or savouring his favourite dish, spaghetti.

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