Augustine Mahlonoko

Augustine Mahlonoko (born 17 August 2001) is a South African professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and was most recently contracted to Premier Soccer League side Orlando Pirates. He is a graduate of the Pirates academy and became the club's youngest ever debutante in August 2018 before being released two years later.

Augustine Mahlonoko

Personal information
Full name	Augustine Mahlonoko
Date of birth	(2001-08-17) 17 August 2001[1]
Place of birth	South Africa
Height	1.53 m (5 ft 0 in)[1]
Playing position(s)	Midfielder
Number	38
Youth career
	Orlando Pirates
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2018–2020	Orlando Pirates	4	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 07:35, 20 July 2020 (UTC)

Club career

Orlando Pirates

Mahlonoko began his footballing career with Orlando Pirates where he excelled for the club's academy and captained their MultiChoice Diski Challenge side.[2] In 2018, he won the club's Development Player of the Season award and was part of the u-21 side which traveled to Brazil for the Project X tournament.[3] His performances during the tournament impressed first-team coach Milutin Sredojević who subsequently included him in the club's pre-season tour of Zambia. His rapid rise to prominence continued and on 3 August, despite not having played a single match for the club's reserve side, he was promoted to the first team permanently ahead of the 2018–19 PSL campaign.[4][5] He made his debut the following day, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–1 draw with Highlands Park.[6] Upon entering the field of play, Mahlonoko broke the record set by Lyle Foster the season before for the youngest player to debut for Orlando Pirates, doing so at the age of 16 years and 352 days.[2][7] The following season, he was demoted to the club's reserve team before being released from his contract in July 2020.[8]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 20 Jul 2020 [9]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup^1		League Cup^2		Continental^3		Other^4		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Orlando Pirates	2018–19	PSL	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	2019–20	PSL	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Career total			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

¹ Includes Nedbank Cup matches.
² Includes Telkom Knockout matches.
³ Includes CAF Champions League matches.
⁴ Includes MTN 8 matches.

Honours and achievements

Individual

• Orlando Pirates Development Player of the Year: 2018[3]

Records

Orlando Pirates

• Youngest player: 16 years and 352 days[7]

References

1. "Augustine Mahlonoko". Orlando Pirates. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
2. Christenson, Marcus; Powell, Jim; Blight, Garry; Hulley-Jones, Frank; Crann, Joe (11 October 2018). "Next Generation 2018: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
3. Head, Tom (4 August 2018). "Orlando Pirates: Augustine Mahlonoko, 16, is capable of wonder-goals". The South African. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
4. Strydom, Marc (3 August 2018). "Orlando Pirates promote 16-year-old to first team". Times Live. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
5. "Pirates Promote 16-Year-Old!". Soccer Laduma. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
6. Strydom, Marc (4 August 2018). "False start for Pirates against Highlands at Orlando". Times Live. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
7. Gwegwe, Siseko (7 August 2018). "Orlando Pirates break PSL record with 16-year-old debutant, Augustine Mahlonoko". Political Analysis South Africa. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
8. Fakude, Ernest (20 July 2020). "Pirates part ways with midfielder". KickOff. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
9. "A. Mahlonoko". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 January 2019.