From teenage prospects to European moves: The changing paths of South Africa’s GQ footballers

Two years ago, five teenage footballers appeared on the cover of GQ South Africa’s Success Issue. Today, four are playing in Europe, while the fifth has established himself at Kaizer Chiefs.

Relebohile Mofokeng, Thapelo Maseko, Shandre Campbell, Jaedin Rhodes and Mfundo Vilakazi were presented in August 2024 as the young faces of South Africa’s next football generation.

The feature, produced in collaboration with the Premier Soccer League and titled around the theme of “future SA soccer icons”, was about potential. 

Two years later, it reads almost like an early snapshot of where South African football was heading. 

Five routes from South Africa to Europe:

For Mofokeng, the journey has moved at remarkable speed.

After helping Orlando Pirates win the 2025/26 treble and representing Bafana Bafana at the 2026 Fifa World Cup, he completed his move to Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. 

Pirates confirmed the agreement on July 1, while the club had already reached an agreement in principle before the tournament. Mofokeng subsequently signed for Union and began his new European chapter.

Maseko’s rise has been just as dramatic.

The former Mamelodi Sundowns attacker became one of Bafana’s defining players at the World Cup, scoring the winner against South Korea on June 24 as South Africa reached the knockout stage for the first time. 

He then moved to Danish club FC Copenhagen in August. On 6 September, he marked his first start for the club with two goals in a 5-0 victory over OB. 

Campbell’s European journey began with Club Brugge, where he progressed from Club NXT into the senior setup. He made 11 Jupiler Pro League appearances for Club Brugge last season before joining KV Kortrijk in July on a contract until 2030. 

Rhodes has taken a different route, moving from Cape Town City to Austrian Bundesliga club SV Ried in June. The 23-year-old signed until 2028, with an option for another year, after choosing Europe as the next step in his development. 

Then there is Vilakazi.

While his four GQ contemporaries have crossed borders, the Kaizer Chiefs academy graduate has remained in South Africa and increasingly looks like a first-team fixture. 

He scored in Chiefs’ recent win over Siwelele, underlining his growing importance to the Soweto giants. 

That is what makes the five-man story so interesting.

Success no longer has one definition. For Mofokeng, Maseko, Campbell and Rhodes, it has meant building careers in European football. 

For Vilakazi, it means becoming an established starter at one of Africa’s biggest clubs.

The GQ cover captured them before any of that had happened. What it could not capture was how quickly the football world around them would change.

These are no longer simply promising youngsters waiting for their opportunity. They are becoming professional athletes, international players, European exports and, increasingly, brands in their own right.

The photograph was taken in 2024.

The careers it predicted are now taking shape.