SuperSport United FC and Mamelodi Sundowns have agreed terms for the permanent move of Bafana Bafana and club captain Ronwen Williams with immediate effect for an undisclosed fee.
Ronwen signed for the club at the age of 12 after being scouted in a youth tournament in 2004. He moved from his home in Port Elizabeth into the club’s youth academy where he worked his way through the ranks and into the first team.
Williams was promoted in January 2012, making his debut in a CAF Champions League match against Matlama FC from Lesotho and his PSL debut four months later against Free State Stars, keeping a clean sheet in both games.
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The 30-year-old played over 350 league and cup matches with seven winner’s medals under his belt which included three Nedbank Cups, two MTN 8 trophies and one Telkom Knock-Out trophy during his eighteen-year-stay at the club. He has also picked up a few personal accolades which included, the PSL Young Player of the Year in the 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons. MTN 8 last man standing in 2017/18 and PSL Goalkeeper of the Year in the 2018/2019 and 2019/20 seasons.
The Gqeberha-born-player has just under 30 Bafana Bafana caps under his belt and was appointed captain by Head Coach Huge Broos in August 2021.
SuperSport United CEO Stanley Matthews adds: ”Ronwen is a beloved son and legend of the club who has entrenched his place in the history books as the longest serving and most capped player in the club’s history. It’s rare to find loyalty in football anymore which makes our 18 years with Ronwen truly remarkable.
We are very proud that we could produce a player from the tender age of 12 and enable him to reach his childhood dreams by playing for and captaining his club and country.
Ronwen leaves us with trophies in the cabinet and very special memories and we wish him every success in life and for his future career at Mamelodi Sundowns.”
Ronwen Williams: “First and foremost I would like to thank the chairman Mr Khulu Sibiya for allowing me to be part of such a wonderful club for so many years and for taking good care of me. To the club’s CEO Mr Stanley Matthews, I will forever be indebted to you and for each and every promise you made to me you have successfully fulfilled, I will forever be grateful to you as well as the board.
"To each coach and staff member at the academy, I will not be where I am today without you guys, thank you so much for playing a major role in my career. To my entire SuperSport United family, I can’t thank you guys enough. Ronwen Williams is forever United.”