Masandawana are the undisputed new kings of premiership football in SA

Three-time premiership champions in a row, Mamelodi Sundowns, has swept the boards at the #PSLAwards20. Sundowns picked up seven awards to cap three years of brilliant football performances and thereby confirming themselves as the undisputed kings of premiership football in South Africa.

Masandawana are the second club in the history of the premiership to ever win a treble twice, the other being archrival Orlando Pirates. Both Pirates and Sundowns did the treble before the inception of the premiership in 1996. Masandawana won the treble this time around in the form of last season’s Absa Premiership, the Telkom Knockout trophy and the Nedbank Cup. To cap a brilliant season, the country’s richest club which is known as the millionaires has swept the boards at the first-ever virtual annual awards held on 22 October.

Stylish midfielder and a regular goal poacher, Themba Zwane, stole the show when he single-handedly walked away with three major awards. Zwane has crowned the 2019/20 PSL Footballer of the Season, Absa Premiership Player’s Player of the Season, and the Bafana Bafana star completed a hat-trick when he was also named as the Absa Premiership Midfielder of the Season.

The footballer of the season is voted exclusively by the Premier Division coaches while the Absa Premiership Player’s Player of the Season is chosen by players. Players are not allowed to vote for their teammate. This was Zwane’s second successive nomination for the PSL Footballer of the Season. This year, he beat teammates Gaston Sirino, Peter Shalulile and Kaizer Chiefs’ Samir Nurkovic. 

His former coach Pitso ‘Jingles’ Mosimane, who has since left the Brazilians for pastures green in Egypt as head coach of Africa’s most decorated club, Al Ahly, was crowned the Absa Premiership Coach of the Season for a record third time in a row. Mosimane guided Mamelodi Sundowns to yet another Absa Premiership title after snatching it from under the feet of Kaizer Chiefs making it Sundowns’ third consecutive title. Baroka FC’s Goodman Mosele took the Absa Premiership Most Promising Player award in a category that was highly contested by some of the country’s most promising talent, which is awarded to players under the age of 21.

Maritzburg United’s Rushine De Reuck, another youngster who is making waves in premiership football, was voted Absa Premiership Defender of the Season while Brazilian’s skipper Hlompho Kekana’s strike against Orlando Pirates on 20 August was voted by the public as the Absa Premiership Goal of the Season. In the MTN8, SuperSport United striker Bradley Grobler won the MTN8 Last Man Standing in a category that was dominated by SuperSport United players.

Gaston Sirino, the Uruguayan-born Sundowns player was voted Telkom Knockout Player of the Season. Despite losing to Mamelodi Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup final, Bloemfontein Celtic’s Victor Letsoalo took top honours in the competition. He was voted as the Nedbank Cup Player of the Tournament while Keletso Makgalwa, the Masandawana forward, walked away with the Nedbank Cup’s Most Promising Player.

In the match officials category, Jelly Chavani won the Referee of the Season while Shaun Olive won the Assistant Referee of the Season award.

The full list of winners: 
Footballer of the Season – Themba Zwane of Mamelodi Sundowns
Player’s Player of the Season – Themba Zwane of Mamelodi Sundowns
Coach of the Season – Pitso Mosimane, the former coach of Sundowns
Young Player of the Season – Goodman Mosele of Baroka FC
Goalkeeper of the Season – Ronwen Williams of SuperSport United
Defender of the Season – Rushine De Reuck of Maritzburg United
Midfielder of the Season – Themba Zwane of Sundowns
Goal of the Season – Hlompho Kekana of Sundowns
Absa Premiership Top Goalscorer – Peter Shalulile of Highlands Park and Gabadinho Mhango of Orlando Pirates
MTN8 Last Man Standing – Bradley Grobler of SuperSport United
Telkom Knockout Player of the Tournament – Gaston Sirino of Sundowns
Nedbank Cup Most Promising Player – Keletso Makgalwa of Sundowns
Nedbank Cup Player of the Tournament – Victor Letsoalo of Bloemfontein Celtic
Referee of the Season – Jelly Chavani
Assistant Referee of the Season – Shaun Olive
GladAfrica Top Goalscorer – Abednigo Mosiatlhaga of the former Ajax Cape Town

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