South Africa U20 captain dies

Stellenbosch FC defender and South Africa U20 captain Oshwin Andries has passed on after he was allegedly stabbed.

Andries wasn’t involved in Stellenbosch FC’s 2-1 win over Chippa United at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday and hours after the win, the club released a statement confirming the demise of their youngest-ever goal-scorer.

“It is with deep sadness that Stellenbosch F.C. has learned of the untimely passing of promising young defender, Oshwin Andries. The Club is not in a position to provide further information at this stage and asks that his family’s privacy is respected in this difficult time of bereavement,” read the statement in part.

“Andries was a gifted young footballer who graduated from the SFC Academy to make his professional debut at the age of 18. He later became the Club’s youngest-ever goalscorer in the DStv Premiership and captained South Africa at the recent U-20 AFCON COSAFA qualifiers,”.

The PSL club promised to give more information touching on the death of the 19-year-old.

“His presence, both on the pitch and off it, will be sorely missed. The thoughts and prayers of everyone at Stellenbosch F.C. are with his family, friends and loved ones. A further statement will follow in due course,".

Cases of South African players dying under unclear circumstances are not uncommon. The biggest of them all was the gruesome murder of Senzo Meyiwa, a former Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana goalkeeper who was shot and killed during home invasion on 26 October 2014.

The PSL has over the years lost a number of players to tragic road accidents.

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