Tshegofatso Mabasa's season ended in bittersweet fashion with omission from the FIFA World Cup squad and not being present to celebrate an Orlando Pirates title win he helped lay the foundation for, but his recently concluded loan stint at Stellenbosch FC has left him brimming with confidence.
Mabasa was loaned to Stellenbosch in January after his game time decreased at Orlando Pirates following the arrival of Abdeslam Ouaddou as head coach.
The 29-year-old still made five league appearances for Pirates this past season, scoring once for the team that ultimately ended their 14-year South African Premiership title drought. Following the conclusion of the season, his contract lapsed, leaving him as a free agent.
Mabasa feels he earned his share of Orlando Pirates' glory
"Yes, I feel [like a worthy champion] because I feel that I did my part in the first half of the season. Yes, opportunities were few and far between, but whenever I was given the opportunities, I managed to deliver as well," Mabasa told ESPN before the game in which Pirates clinched the title with a 2-0 win over Orbit College.
"Definitely; I think I have played my part - and it's not just about the league as well. It's about the MTN8 and Carling Knockout, which I played a huge part in. I was a very integral part of that group, and even until [the final week of the season], I have talked to the guys and tried to encourage them going into their games."
Mabasa additionally scored once in the MTN8 and twice in the CAF Champions League for Pirates prior to his move to Stellenbosch - where he scored four more Premiership goals. His strike in the 1-1 draw with Mamelodi Sundowns in April for Stellies was ironically arguably the one which Pirates fans celebrated most of all his goals this season.
Bafana Bafana at the forefront of Mabasa's mind
It has been close to five years since Mabasa's lone Bafana Bafana appearance under Hugo Broos in a 3-1 win over Ethiopia. He starred at the 2023 COSAFA Cup for South Africa, but that was under a different coach - Morena Ramoreboli.
Mabasa contends that aside from Sundowns frontman Iqraam Rayners - who was overlooked for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 in Morocco but named in the World Cup squad - he has been the most consistent striker in South Africa.
"I think if you were to look at stats, Iqraam Rayners would be first in the amount of goals he has scored over the last, let's say, three seasons and I would be second in that regard as well. The consistency for me has been something that I would be really proud of - because when I started at Pirates, people would say that I was not consistent."
Indeed, Mabasa has scored 28 goals combined over the past three Premiership seasons. Rayners leads the way with 41, and no other player has scored more than 'Sniper'. Brazilian former Sundowns winger Lucas Ribeiro scored a combined 28 league goals in 2023-24 and 2024-25, but no longer plays his club football in South Africa.
Mabasa did not feed into any speculation over which club he will be playing for next season. However, what is certain is that he has breaking into the Bafana Bafana team at the top of his priority list.
"Right now, given how things have unfolded over the last couple of months, the only thing that still keeps me motivated would be wanting to get into the national team - and obviously, the love for winning trophies. I still want to continue in that vein," he said.
Unconditional love for Mabasa in the City of Roses
Whatever is next for the striker, he at least knows he has the support of his parents - who he credits for helping him avoid the pitfalls of many South African footballers who come from broken families.
"My mom always has a story to tell people that meet her for the first time and talk about me: it's that the only toy that I had as a child was a football. She says that I was football-crazy from a young age. Obviously, some of the moments, I don't recall," Mabasa said.
"I used to put on cricket [pads] and go and play in the garden the entire day even though I had allergies to the grass and asthma and all of that. I would come back and I'd have to use my pump and whatever. Tomorrow, it's the same thing again," the striker said, adding that the asthma and allergies that hampered him in his childhood suddenly ceased to significantly affect him on a football pitch at a time he cannot recall.
"My love for football has always been there from a very young age. Gladly, with the support I received from family - my parents always encouraged me. I'm glad to have made it this far.
"My dad worked in the army. He was in exile before - during the apartheid times. He managed to study in places like Cuba to obtain his qualifications and become a medical doctor. He worked in the army. He recently retired about two years ago, but he's been going back and forth to help patients. My mom was also in the army - she used to be, because she also retired last year. She was working as a nurse.
"Both are loving parents - supportive. They've always been there for me. I never lacked anything because of the support and the love that they gave.
"It is very different [to many footballers] but we don't choose in what families we are born. I'm fortunate to be blessed with, honestly, the best parents."
Mabasa rose to prominence at Grey College in Bloemfontein, under the guidance of then-head coach Nicholas Koupis. The school is known predominantly for its rugby prowess, but Mabasa wrote his name into its folklore through one particular performance which remained the talk of the town for years afterwards - even among those who were not usually football fans.
Sources who knew Mabasa growing up have long spoken of an Engen Knockout Challenge match in which he either scored or assisted all seven goals in a 7-0 win for Grey, and 'Sniper' told ESPN that it was a game which played a part in kickstarting his career.
"It is actually true... I was captain of that team. In one of the games - I think it was a group stage game - I think I scored about four goals and assisted the other three, and I guess that's where Coach Ernst [Middendorp] and Coach Molefi Ntseki started to take notice of me," Mabasa said.
Middendorp handed Mabasa his debut at Bloemfontein Celtic in 2014, while Ntseki was his assistant and later became Bafana Bafana head coach from 2019-2021.
Once a Buccaneer, always grateful to Mokwena
Mabasa went on to sign for Orlando Pirates - the club he supported growing up - in 2019. The highs and lows in subsequent years included playing with a broken bone in his foot in the run-up to the 2021-22 CAF Confederation Cup final, being sent out on loan to Sekhukhune United and Moroka Swallows over the following year and a half, and then coming back to become Pirates' second-highest scorer in the Premier Soccer League era, behind only Benedict 'Tso' Vilakazi.
Mabasa still holds great affection for Rhulani Mokwena - who gave him his Pirates debut following the shock exit of head coach Milutin 'Micho' Sredojević early in the striker's first season at the club. Mokwena's stint was short-lived, but he later unsuccessfully tried to sign Mabasa at Mamelodi Sundowns.
"Honestly, for me, one of the best coaches I have worked with in this country. The man is football-crazy - he is so passionate about football; he doesn't sleep at night. He is always thinking about how to improve together as a team," Mabasa said of Mokwena - adding that Pirates played attractive football under Mokwena even if the results did not show it.
It took some time before Mabasa rediscovered his best form after Mokwena's December 2019 departure, and the subsequent years were a rollercoaster ride. After Pirates lost the 2021-22 CAF Confederation Cup final to RS Berkane, Mabasa fell out of favour and only returned midway through 2023-24 after his loan spells at Sekhukhune United and Moroka Swallows.
"There was a point where I was actually playing with a broken bone in my foot and people never knew that. The amount of sacrifices that I have had to make for the club - even during that period, I was the one that was scoring goals at the club and helping the team to win games and make it all the way to the CAF [Confederation Cup] final," Mabasa said.
"These things happen in football. People maybe might not see them the same way that we do, but it was a very difficult and challenging period - especially having to go out on loan to Sekhukhune. I still felt that there was a lot that I could offer the club in them wanting to win trophies and be successful."
Hunt gets Sniper firing again
If the mark Mokwena left on Mabasa was through his obsession with football, Stellenbosch head coach Gavin Hunt has left his imprint on the striker through allowing him to fall back in love with the game after he was once again sent out on loan two years after his initial Buccaneers return.
Despite Mabasa's scoring record, Yanela Mbuthuma and Evidence Makgopa had been deemed more natural fits for Pirates' high-pressing style of play in the 2025-26 season, but Hunt reignited Mabasa's confidence at Stellies, encouraging to play with a smile on his face and take more shots.
"The amount of confidence; the amount of belief he has in his players - the support he gives his players as well - has been really wonderful. I think it's something that one has needed not only recently, but also over the last couple of months as well. It's just been a different environment for me - a change of scenery. It has helped me quite a lot to grow and to be able to improve as well," Mabasa said of Hunt.
"He and I have one-on-ones and we speak after training sessions. He will always have an input on how one can improve. He always jokes about how he tried to sign me [for Bidvest Wits] when I was at Celtic. He says that if he had me when I was younger, I would have been one of the best players in the world.
"That's Coach Gavin for you - a really lovely person and definitely the type of coach that players will want to fight for."
The 2025-26 season saw Stellenbosch finish ninth - one position ahead of 10th-placed Siwelele, the most prominent current Bloemfontein club in South African football. The club was formed following the sale of SuperSport United last year, using the currently defunct Bloem Celtic's old nickname.
While Mabasa wants to be optimistic about the future of football in the City of Roses, he has absolutely no doubt about how high Stellenbosch - who finished third in 2023-24 and 2024-25 - can go.
"It's been heartbreaking, I don't want to lie, for the club (Bloemfontein Celtic) to be sold. It reminds me of the Wits story as well. We can't afford to lose such clubs. This thing of buying [Premier Soccer League] statuses doesn't work. Bloem went quiet for a couple of years because of that. Hopefully now with Siwelele being back - I know that it will never be Bloemfontein Celtic - but at least [there's] a bit of hope in the City," Mabasa said.
"For [Stellenbosch] to win the league one day - that's what I would love - for this club to be regarded as one of the best teams in the land. That's what I would definitely love, because of the experiences that I have had here. The support that I have received here surpasses any. It reminds me of my Bloem Celtic days."