South African football ‘giant’ Masinga dies

JOHANNESBURG: Former South Africa star Philemon ‘Chippa’ Masinga died Sunday aged 49 in a Johannesburg hospital from cancer, the national football association said in a statement.

“We have lost a giant of South African football,” said football association president Danny Jordaan. “This is a sad day and I am gutted.“I saw him last Sunday before I flew to Dakar (for Confederation of African Football activities) and although Phil was not feeling well, he was in good spirits.

“Before saying goodbye, I promised ‘Chippa’ that I would visit him again sometime this week and now our hero is gone.”He scored the goal that beat Congo Brazzaville 1-0 in Soweto and took Bafana Bafana (The Boys) to the 1998 World Cup in France.

Masinga ran on to a pass from midfield and slammed an unstoppable shot over the Congolese goalkeeper before a capacity 80,000 crowd, including then president Nelson Mandela. Masinga was part of the South African ‘golden generation’ that won the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations.