Profiling the MTN8 ambassadors

There are eight ambassadors for the 2022 MTN8 tournament, which includes some of the leading players in the PSL over the last two decades. Most have enjoyed trophy success in the competition, but there has also been some final heartache.

TYREN ARENDSE
MTN8 competition winners’ medals: 2002
Arendse was a skilful midfielder who is remembered as a stalwart for Santos during their hugely successful spell at the turn of the millennium, but he also went on to have success with Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns. He helped Santos to a 2-0 win over future employers Sundowns in the 2002 Top 8 final, a season in which they also won the ABSA Cup, having the year before lifted the league trophy. He was part of the Sundowns squad that reached the 2007 Top 8 decider, but did not play as The Brazilians beat Pirates 1-0. He also notably scored on his Bafana Bafana debut in a 2-0 win in Tunisia in 2004.
JOSTA DLADLA
MTN8 competition winners’ medals: 2007, 2014
Winger Dladla enjoyed much trophy success in the PSL after spells with Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs brought league titles and cup wins. He lifted the trophy with Sundowns in 2007 as they beat Orlando Pirates 1-0 in the final, and then did so again with Chiefs in 2014; the AmaKhosi pouring misery on The Buccaneers with victory by the same scoreline. But he also tasted final heartache – he was in the Sundowns side that lost to Chiefs in 2008 and played in the 2011 final when Chiefs were beaten 1-0 by Pirates.
MORGAN GOULD
MTN8 competition winners’ medals: 2014, 2017
Gould was part of Cosmos squad that won the old SAA Supa8 in 2003 but did not play in the final, though he finally got his winners’ medal 11 years later as he helped Kaizer Chiefs defeat Orlando Pirates in the decider. He was not done though, and was also on the winning side for SuperSport United as they edged Cape Town City on penalties in 2017. Matsatsantsa also reached the final the following year, though Gould did not play in their penalties defeat to the same opposition. Gould was a PSL stalwart for almost 20 years, playing for Cosmos, Chiefs, SuperSport (over two spells) and Stellenbosch FC.
HLOMPHO KEKANA
MTN8 competition winners’ medals: None
Kekana is a Sundowns legend who recently hung up his boots and won everything there was to win with The Brazilians … almost. He was part of the wider squad that won the 2021 MTN8, but did not play a single minute of that campaign – or feature in the match-day squad – as it became clear his time at the club was up. He did feature in the 2016 final as Sundowns were swept away by BidVest Wits, losing 3-0, and their struggles in the Top 8 during his decade with the club meant he had no direct success. But in all other competitions, he excelled. Kekana was also a top-flight player for Black Leopards, SuperSport United and Bloemfontein Celtic.

BRILLIANT KHUZWAYO
MTN8 competition winners’ medals: 2014
Goalkeeper Khuzwayo was between the sticks for Kaizer Chiefs as they defeated Orlando Pirates in the 2014 MTN8 final, keeping a clean-sheet in their 1-0 success. He would later join Pirates, but injury meant he never played a game for The Buccaneers, and he had left by the time they won the trophy in 2020. Khuzwayo did not feature for Chiefs in their run to the 2015 MTN8 decider, where they lost to Ajax Cape Town. He was unfortunate to be at the club at the same time as Itumeleng Khune, who he largely had to play second fiddle too. The gloveman started his career at AmaZulu.
LUCKY LEKGWATHI
MTN8 competition winners’ medals: 2010, 2011
Lekgwathi was a part of the Orlando Pirates side that lost the 2007 final to Sundowns, but picked up back-to-back winners’ medals in 2010 and 2011. The first of those finals was a penalty shootout win over Moroka Swallows, and the second a 1-0 success over old enemy Kaizer Chiefs. He was still at Pirates when they lost the 2013 decider to Platinum Stars, though he did not feature on match-day. He spent 12 years at Pirates and is a legend at the club, captaining the team during their ‘Double Treble’ success in winning six trophies between 2010 and 2012. He also played in the top-flight early in his career for Real Rovers and Ria Stars.
NJABULO MANQANA
MTN8 competition winners’ medals: 2009
Manqana is perhaps best remembered for his scintillating performance in the 2009 MTN8 final, when he helped Golden Arrows to a record 6-0 victory over Ajax Cape Town. That remains the largest ever win in a South African cup final and was in large part thanks to Manqana, who scored twice but also proved a provider of goals as he tore Ajax to shreds. He spent seven years with Abafana Bes’thende before leaving for Orlando Pirates in 2012, a move that did not really work out. He later also had a spell at AmaZulu.
FABIAN McCARTHY
MTN8 competition winners’ medals: 2006
Defender McCarthy did not have a lot of luck in the Top 8 through his career, losing the 2001 final to Kaizer Chiefs on penalties and having to settle for silver again in 2002 as his Sundowns side lost in the decider for the second year running to Santos. He later joined Kaizer Chiefs but lost again in the final as they went down to SuperSport United in 2004 to make it a hat-trick of disappointments in just four years. He did finally take gold in the competition as they beat SuperSport in the 2006 decider, but had left Chiefs weeks before they lifted the trophy again in 2008. Despite these disappointments, McCarthy was a stalwart PSL player, turning out for Bloemfontein Celtic, Sundowns, Chiefs, Moroka Swallows, Maritzburg United and Mpumalanga Black Aces.

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