Cape Town Footballers Shine at 2026 PSL Awards
The awards ceremony also honoured Jayden Adams to recognise what he had given to South African football in a career cut tragically short.
With the Betway Premiership season kicking off this weekend, the 2025/2026 PSL Awards celebrated the players who defined last season, with Cape Town-born and based footballers among the names called up on stage on Monday, 27 July.
Bishop Lavis-born Oswin Appollis picked up the Betway Premiership Midfielder of the Season award after a campaign that saw him help Orlando Pirates complete a historic domestic treble, lifting the league title, the MTN8 and the Carling Knockout. Appollis contributed 12 goals and 9 assists across 43 matches in all competitions and was also among the contenders for the overall Footballer of the Season prize, which he narrowly missed out on.
The late Jayden Adams, who represented Mamelodi Sundowns and had roots in Cape Town’s Cloetesville and Idas Valley communities, was posthumously presented with the Chairman’s Award. PSL Chairman Dr Irvin Khoza handed the honour to the Adams family in recognition of a career that took him from Stellenbosch FC’s academy to Sundowns and a place in Bafana Bafana’s 2026 FIFA World Cup squad. Adams died on 11 July, aged 25, just weeks after that World Cup appearance, and his passing was felt deeply across South African football.
There was also recognition for the next generation coming through Cape Town’s ranks. Emile Witbooi, an attacking midfielder and winger at Cape Town City FC, was named the Motsepe Foundation Championship Players’ Player of the Season, voted for by his fellow professionals in the division. At just 17, Witbooi earned that recognition through his composure on the ball and the impact he has already made in senior football at such a young age.
Elsewhere on the night, Lamontville Golden Arrows winger Ronaldo van Neel shared the Motsepe Foundation Championship Top Goal Scorer Award with Chippa United’s Ntuthuko Mlotshwa. Orlando Pirates were the dominant force domestically, closing out the season with three trophies to their name, while Durban City claimed the Nedbank Cup.
The night’s biggest prize, PSL Footballer of the Season, went to Relebohile Mofokeng. The former Pirates winger completed a clean sweep, also collecting the Young Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season awards, capping a campaign that has since taken him from Orlando Pirates to Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. For Cape Town football, though, the night was a reminder of how much talent the city continues to send into the professional game, from established internationals to teenagers only just getting started.
Full List of PSL 2025/2026 Award Winners
Footballer of the Season: Relebohile Mofokeng (Orlando Pirates)
Betway Premiership Players’ Player of the Season: Relebohile Mofokeng (Orlando Pirates)
Betway Premiership Coach of the Season: Abdeslam Ouaddou (Orlando Pirates)
Betway Premiership Top Goalscorer: Sede Dion (Golden Arrows)
Betway Premiership Goal of the Season: Camren Dansin (Orlando Pirates)
Betway Premiership Goalkeeper of the Season: Sipho Chaine (Orlando Pirates)
Betway Premiership Defender of the Season: Lebone Seema (Orlando Pirates)
Betway Premiership Midfielder of the Season: Oswin Appollis (Orlando Pirates)
Betway Premiership Young Player of the Season: Relebohile Mofokeng (Orlando Pirates)
MTN8 Last Man Standing: Tshepang Moremi (Orlando Pirates)
Carling Knockout Player of the Tournament: Mbekezeli Mbokazi
Nedbank Cup Player of the Tournament: Darren Keet (Durban City)
Nedbank Cup Most Promising Player of the Tournament: Seluleko Mahlambi (TS Galaxy)
Motsepe Foundation Championship Players’ Player of the Season: Emile Witbooi (Cape Town City)
Motsepe Foundation Championship Young Player of the Season: Gabriel Amato (Cape Town City)
Motsepe Foundation Championship Goalkeeper of the Season: Mickey van der Hart (Cape Town City)
DStv Diski Challenge Player of the Season: Bennet Mokoena (Mamelodi Sundowns)
DStv Diski Challenge Top Scorer: Bennet Mokoena (Mamelodi Sundowns)
PSL Assistant Referee of the Season: Nandipha Menze
PSL Referee of the Season: Eugene Mdluli
PSL Chairman’s Award: Jayden Adams
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