Mamelodi Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi has explained why teenage sensation Siyabonga Mabena hasn’t featured for his side in the Carling Knockout despite being named among the 60 most-talented players born in 2007.
Last week, the 17-year-old was named on The Guardian’s Next Generation list, among the likes of Lamine Yamal and Estevao, but Mabena has only featured once for the first team in 2024/25 so far.
After his side’s 5-0 win over Golden Arrows, Mngqithi insisted that it’s important for the teenager he gets enough minutes at this stage in his development, but he will still play a vital role for the club in future.
“That [making the Guardian list] is very exciting because we also hold him in high esteem,” he said.
“Even when you don’t see him in a match like this it is not because we don’t see the capacity. We ask ourselves, we have to make these choices whether we want him to come to play 15-20 minutes in this match when he could start the DDC match and have 80+ minutes, because it’s important for his development.
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“But I think as the season progresses, and the minutes that they are getting, even Maseko got some minutes in the DDC today…
“Mabena is a very talented boy, we know his quality and he’s still going to help us a lot. His attitude and his commitment towards his work is very good.”
Mabena did feature for Downs’ DDC side over the weekend, scoring a brace in their 5-1 thumping of high-flying Cape Town City.
