In the grand cathedral of South African football, where boots write poetry on the pitch and dreams are dribbled into existence, the 2024/25 Betway Premier Soccer League Awards loom like a final whistle in a cup final—definitive, electrifying, and heavy with consequence.
As the curtain prepares to lift on Tuesday, 29 July 2025 at 19h00, live across SuperSport PSL and SABC Sport, the league’s best and brightest prepare to walk the footballing red carpet—not with tuxedos, but with turf-stained reputations and highlight reels etched into the collective memory of millions.
Footballer of the Season: The Golden Thread Between Touchline and Goalpost
This year’s holy trinity vying for the Footballer of the Season are as different as tactical formations, yet each one stitched seamlessly into their team’s fabric.
- Keletso Makgalwa has been the heartbeat of Sekhukhune United, his movement like a metronome—ticking and tocking between midfield intricacy and final-third dynamite.
- Relebohile Mofokeng, the boy wonder from Orlando Pirates, dances down the flank like he’s choreographing a samba with the ball. His season has been a sonnet of confidence, creativity, and clinical contribution.
- Lucas Ribeiro Costa, Mamelodi Sundowns’ Brazilian maestro, plays with the calm of a chess grandmaster and the venom of a striking cobra—delivering goals and assists with samba soul and surgical precision.
Their triple-threat presence in the Betway Premiership Players’ Player of the Season nominees list reaffirms their status not just as crowd favourites, but as peers’ picks—rare praise from those who bear the same bruises.
Coaches at the Tactical Chalkboard
Behind every great campaign lies a manager who turns scribbles into symphonies. In the technical dugout, the battle for Coach of the Season is a tactical masterclass.
- Steve Barker has turned Stellenbosch FC from underdogs to overachievers—his side a snarling pack that pressed, passed and punished.
- Miguel Cardoso of Mamelodi Sundowns played the conductor’s role in a team of virtuosos, orchestrating with a European elegance and a South African grit
- Jose Riveiro, meanwhile, brought a matador’s flair to the Orlando Pirates' bench, slaying giants with a blade of tactical discipline and attacking flair.
Youth on Fire: Where Tomorrow’s Legends Begin
A golden generation simmers in the shadows. The Young Player of the Season nominees crackle with potential like lightning in the distance:
- Malibongwe Khoza (Sundowns): a midfield general in the body of a cadet.
- Mohau Nkota and Relebohile Mofokeng (Pirates): a dynamic duo that torched touchlines and left defenders clutching at air.
Relebohile’s name appears yet again—like a ghost haunting defenders, and now the awards list alike—this time also in contention for the Nedbank Cup’s Most Promising Player alongside teammates Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Nkota.
The Championship’s Grit and Glory
The Motsepe Foundation Championship—the cauldron of ambition—has seen its own gladiators rise.
- Players’ Player of the Season: Banele Hlophe (JDR Stars), Joslin Kamatuka (Durban City FC), and Muzomuhle Khanyi (Hungry Lions)—each one a warrior forged in the crucible of promotion battles.
- Young Player: Luke Baartman, Teboho Lekhatla, and Siphamandla Mhlongo—carving their names into the future with every run, tackle, and goal.
- Goalkeeper of the Season: Emile Lako, Sekhoane Moerane, and Dumsani Msibi—the final bulwarks of resistance, defying strikers with gravity-defying saves.
Tournament Titans: Knockout Kings and Cup Magicians
From knockout chaos rose heroes whose names lit up evening headlines.
- MTN8 Last Man Standing: Fawaaz Basadien (Stellenbosch), Deon Hotto and Mofokeng (Pirates)—each one the last ember glowing when others faded.
- Carling Knockout Player: Elvis Chipezeze, Edmore Chirambadare (both Magesi FC), and Iqraam Rayners (Sundowns)—players who turned cup ties into personal mixtapes of magic.
- Nedbank Cup Player of the Tournament: All roads lead to Kaizer Chiefs, with Inacio Miguel, Pule Mmodi, and Gaston Sirino bringing the cup run to life like artists at an open canvas.
Diski Delight: The Next Generation
The DStv Diski Challenge Player of the Season sees Gomolemo Kekana (Sundowns), Ntandoyenkosi Nkosi (Chiefs), and Tylon Smith (Stellenbosch) bursting through the academy ranks with the kind of exuberance only youth and hunger can supply.
As the lights dim and the stage is set, 29 July promises more than an awards evening—it promises a coronation. This is football’s answer to poetry night, a night for gladiators in shin pads and magicians in boots. Every nomination is a story. Every trophy, a legacy waiting to be sealed.
In the grand theatre of South African football, these stars are not just playing the game—they’re redefining it.
