Mlondi Dlamini

Maritzburg United have confirmed the sad news of the passing away of one of their rising young stars, Mlondi Dlamini, following a motor vehicle accident on Sunday.

The club was informed that an accident took place at about 6.30 on Sunday morning (9 October 2017) on the N3 north-bound between Pietermaritzburg and Durban after the driver lost control. Dlamini was a passenger in the vehicle and was pronounced dead on the scene.

Club chairman Farook Kadodia said he was devastated by the untimely passing of the 20-year-old Dlamini, who had looked set for a successful football career only to have his life tragically cut short.

“We are extremely sad about the loss of Mlondi, an exciting young player with enormous potential. He had been nurtured by the club and brought through our development ranks, having been with the club for about five years, during which time we represented South Africa in the U20 side.

“His passing has shocked the entire squad and the players and staff are battling to deal with the news. We believed Mlondi was a player with a lot of potential who we had expected to see coming into our PSL side and continuing to play for the national team.”

The promising young midfielder had been with the Team of Choice for five years after signing from the Umgungundlovu Academy and signed his first professional contract in July 2016.

Such were Mlondi’s performances in the MultiChoice Diski Challenge last season that he was one of the three nominees for the MDC Player of the Season award.

He also started three games for Maritzburg United’s first team in the PSL (debuting off the bench against SuperSport United), and making a further three showings off the bench. His first start was under Fadlu Davids in a match against Chippa United.

The club will be meeting the Dlamini family on Monday in order to finalise the memorial service and funeral details, which will be communicated to the supporters as well.

“On behalf of Maritzburg United Football club, we would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to the Dlamini family in their time of bereavement – our prayers and thoughts are with you,” added Kadodia.-PSL WEBSITE