Bennett Masinga

Bennett Masinga (13 January 1965 – 14 November 2013) was a South African soccer player who played as a forward.

Bennett Masinga

Personal information
Date of birth	(1965-01-14)14 January 1965
Place of birth	Klerksdorp, South Africa
Date of death	14 November 2013(2013-11-14) (aged 48)
Place of death	Stilfontein, South Africa
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1983–1987	Klerksdorp City
1987–1996	Mamelodi Sundowns	476	(127)
1996–1999	Seven Stars
1999–2000	Santos Cape Town
2000–2003	→ Hellenic FC (loan)
2002–2006	Bloemfontein Celtic
International career
1992–1993	South Africa	5	(1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

He was the cousin of former footballer Phil Masinga.^[1]

Masinga died on 14 November 2013 at the age of 48.^[2]

International career

Masinga was on the score sheet with his cousin in one of Bafana Bafana's first international matches in a 2–2 draw against Cameroon on 11 July 1992. His fifth and last international match was against Mauritius on 10 April 1993.^[3]

Style of play

MTN described Masinga as one of the best near post goalscorers in SA football, a tiny man, quick as lightning and able to sniff out a goal in any situation.^[4]

Death

Masinga died at the age of 48 after a short illness. Condolences flooded in for the Masinga family. Former Mamelodi Sundowns teammate Zane Moosa took to Twitter to mourn with his tweet reading "Eish, what a sad way to start the weekend. The passing of Bennett "Loverboy" Masinga, what a player! Robala ka kgostso Bennito". Phil Masinga also said "I idolised him. Followed him around as a youngster. Carried his boots for him just to see him play. All I wanted was to be as good in football as he was. No doubt he was a better player than me."^[4]

Career statistics

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	11 July 1992	FNB Stadium, South Africa	Cameroon	2-2	2-2	International friendly

See also

• List of African association football families