Johannesburg – Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns are expected to retire the number 16 shirt donned by Anele Ngcongca during his four-year stay with the Pretoria club.
Ngcongca died in a car crash on the N2 outside Mtunzini on the KwaZulu Natal north coast last month.
When the defender left Sundowns to join AmaZulu recently, the Brazilian allocated the number 16 shirt to new arrival Aubrey Modida. The midfielder joined the club from crosstown rivals SuperSport United.
According to a club insider, the plan to retire the shirt in honour of Ngcongca will be announced shortly after his funeral later this week.
“The fact that Modiba has already played an official match in a different number to the one that he started the season with is a clear indication that they want to retire the number.
“It is also clear that they have already engaged the league and there were approvals because you can’t just change numbers as you want. Expect an announcement after the funeral,” the insider said.
Ngcongca has a successful career at Sundowns and won three league titles under former coach Pitso Mosimane.
Sundowns and Stellenbosch paid tribute to the humble player on Saturday by warming up with t-shirts bearing his name and image. The match was temporarily stopped in the 16th minute by referee Jelly Chavani to honour him.
