RIP BENITO Former Mamelodi Sundowns striker Bennett Masinga has passed away at the age of 48. The cousin of Phil ‘Chippa’ Masinga, ‘Benito’ was born in Klerksdorp and started his professional career with Klerksdorp City where he made his professional on 9 February 1986 in a 4-1 win over Witbank Aces, and scored on the same match. Masinga then made his name with the Brazilians playing for them from 1987 to 1994, winning the League and the Ohlsons Challenge in 1988. After a successful spell with Sundowns, in 1996 Masinga moved to Cape Town where he joined First Division side Seven Stars and helped the team win promotion to the PSL. In 1999 he was among few Seven Stars players who were part of Ajax Cape Town during the club’s formation. In 1999 he joined Santos and was loaned to the struggling Hellenic before moving to Blomfontein Celtic after they were relegated from the PSL. “We found out this morning and we are going to sit down as a family to discuss the matter. We will then issue a press statement about what happened,” Phil tells KickOff. At the time of death, Masinga was staying in Stilfontein – situated between Klerksdorp and Potchefstroom. He played five times for Bafana Bafana, making his debut playing alongside his cousin Phil in Bafana’s third match since re-admission to international football, which was a friendly against Cameroon on 11 July 1992. The two nations drew 2-2, with the cousins both on the scoresheet for Bafana at Soccer City. Masinga’s fifth and last match for Bafana was during the goalless draw against Mauritius on 10 April 1993 at Rand Stadium during the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign. Benito will be solely missed, may his soul rest in peace. By Zola Doda and Tiyani wa ka Mabasa
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 08:18:40 +0000
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