From GQ cover stars to European football: South Africa’s young talents take different routes

Two years after appearing on the cover of GQ South Africa, four of the five teenagers identified as future stars are now playing in Europe, while the fifth has become an increasingly important first-team player for Kaizer Chiefs.

Relebohile Mofokeng, Thapelo Maseko, Shandre Campbell, Jaedin Rhodes and Mfundo Vilakazi featured in the magazine’s Success Issue in August 2024. The group were presented as the young faces of South Africa’s next football generation in a feature created with the Premier Soccer League.

Its theme was “future SA soccer icons”, and the focus was firmly on potential. With hindsight, however, the article also offered an early indication of the direction in which South African football was heading.

Mofokeng has made the most rapid progress. The Bafana Bafana playmaker helped Orlando Pirates win the 2025/26 treble before representing South Africa at the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

Pirates confirmed on 1 July that an agreement had been reached for the midfielder to join Belgian club Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. An agreement in principle had already been reached before the World Cup, and Mofokeng subsequently completed the move and began his career in Europe.

Maseko has also enjoyed a significant rise. The former Mamelodi Sundowns attacker became one of South Africa’s key players at the World Cup, scoring the winning goal against South Korea on 24 June as Bafana Bafana reached the knockout stage for the first time.

In August, Maseko moved to Danish side FC Copenhagen. He made an immediate impression after being handed his first start, scoring twice in a 5-0 win over OB on 6 September.

Campbell began his European career with Club Brugge. After progressing through Club NXT, he moved into the senior team and made 11 Jupiler Pro League appearances for Club Brugge last season.

He joined KV Kortrijk in July and signed a contract running until 2030.

Rhodes has followed a different path. The 23-year-old left Cape Town City for Austrian Bundesliga club SV Ried in June, signing a deal until 2028 with an option to extend it by another year.

His move came as he chose European football as the next stage of his development.

Vilakazi is the only member of the group who has stayed in South Africa. The Kaizer Chiefs academy graduate has instead continued to establish himself with the Soweto club and is increasingly looking like a regular first-team player.

He scored in Chiefs’ recent victory over Siwelele, further highlighting his growing importance to the team.

The contrasting careers of the five players show that success does not follow a single route. Mofokeng, Maseko, Campbell and Rhodes have pursued opportunities in European football, while Vilakazi’s progress has been measured by his emergence as an established starter for one of Africa’s biggest clubs.

When the photograph was taken in 2024, none of those developments had yet happened. The image captured five promising teenagers, but could not show how quickly their careers would change.

They are no longer simply young players waiting for their opportunity. They are becoming professional footballers, international players, European exports and, increasingly, brands in their own right.

The careers suggested by that GQ cover are now beginning to take shape.