The Top Bafana Bafana Stars to Play in the English Premiership

The English Premiership has seen some of the world’s best players grace the fields of the top clubs, with many African footballers finding fame and fortune there. George Weah, Yaya Toure, Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o, and Jay-Jay Okocha are just some of the top African talents to play in England. Some of the best South African talent has also been featured.

South African football arguably peaked in popularity when the country hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup. But the country’s love affair with the most popular game in the world did not end there.

Take a look below to learn more about some of the top South African footballers to have played in the English Premiership.

Lucas Radebe

In 1994, Leeds United was a major force in the English Premiership and manager Howard Wilkinson signed two South African prospects Philemon Masinga and Lucas Radebe.

Masinga was the main target with an incredible goalscoring record for Mamelodi Sundowns and he went on to become the first black South African to play in the Premier League.

While Masinga’s Leeds career never really took off, it was Lucas Radebe who went on to become a club legend. The talented center-back went on to make more than 250 appearances for Leeds and even became the club captain.

Capped 70 times for the Bafana Bafana, Nelson Mandela even went on to call Radebe his hero.

Benni McCarthy

Benni McCarthy starred for Ajax in the Netherlands, Celta Vigo in Spain, and Porto in Portugal before moving to Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United in the Premiership.

The talented striker joined fellow South African Aaron Mokoena at Blackburn and was the second top scorer in the league in the 2006-07 season.

McCarthy went into management following his playing career and is now back in the EPL as a first-team coach with Manchester United.

Shaun Bartlett

The 2000s was a popular time for South Africans to play in England and Charlton Athletic signed Shaun Bartlett in 2001 following a successful loan move from FC Zurich.

He was awarded the Premier League Goal of the Season in 2001 and the striker went on to score 28 goals in 74 appearances for the South African national team.

Mark Fish

Another South African to play for Charlton at the same time as Bartlett was fellow international Mark Fish. Fish had originally moved to Bolton Wanderers following a spell in Italy with Lazio.

He featured in more than a hundred games for both Bolton and Charlton, and a short move to Ipswich on loan was curtailed by a cruciate ligament injury that eventually ended his career.

Steven Pienaar

Steven Pienaar started through Ajax feeder club Ajax Cape Town before moving to the Dutch giants in 2001. A move to Borussia Dortmund preceded a decade-long spell in England with Everton, Tottenham, and Sunderland.

A successful loan spell in 2007 saw Everton pay £2 million for the attacking midfielder who enjoyed three impressive seasons with the club. He moved to Tottenham in 2011 for £3 million before returning to Everton in 2014 for £4.5 million.

A brief spell at Sunderland in 2016 was followed by a return to South Africa before he retired in 2018.

Quinton Fortune

Quinton Fortune started his career with Tottenham’s youth team before moving to Spain where he played for Mallorca and Atletico Madrid. The exciting winger earned a move to Manchester United in 1999 for a fee of £1.5 million where he spent the next seven years of his career as a squad player for Alex Ferguson’s famous team.

A move to Bolton followed before transfers to Brescia in Italy, Tubize in Belgium, and a return to England with Doncaster Rovers where he ended his career.