With Cristiano Ronaldo's son making headlines after winning the first title of his amateur career, we bring the discussion to South Africa as we look at five stars in Mzansi who followed in their footballing fathers' footsteps.
The story
Cristiano Ronaldo Junior clinched helped the Al Nassr to the Saudi U13 Premier League title. Thanks to to his father's prominent status, the triumph has been making the rounds on social media, as many suggest that the youngster's is destined to follow the footsteps of his dad's esteemed career.
For the better part of the last decade, there's a growing list of examples of such instances in South Africa, with prodijies like Khanyisa Mayo and Samkele Zwane taking the baton from their fathers.
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Khanyisa Mayo (Dad: Patrick Mayo)
Cape Town City's top marksman is the son of former Kaizer Chiefs icon Patrick Mayo. The now 25-year-old exploded into the scene after impressing in the SuperSport youth academy before spending some time on loan at Ubuntu. In 2018, he joined Royal Eagles and that was soon followed by a switch to Richards Bay. It is at CT City where he has dramatically blossomed, earning himself regular appearances for Bafana Bafana and winning the DStv Premiership golden boot in last season. His father spent four years at Chiefs and earned almost 20 caps for Bafana, according to Transfermarkt.
Samkelo Zwane (Dad: Eugene Zwane)
The Amakhosi youngster is the child of ex-Orlando Pirates star Eugene Zwane. The young Zwane made his name in the Diski League before earning promotion to the first-team. This season, he has played in a central midfield role, although he featured prominently at full-back last term. Zwane senior told the Sowetan in 2022 that he knew his boy was gifted from a very young age. "I realised that this boy would be a good footballer when he was seven. At that time, he was playing rugby at his primary school [Maragon Mooikloof, private school in Pretoria] because they didn't have football. I quickly transferred him to King's College in Marlboro where there's football. He always had that bond with the ball, keeping it in between his legs even when he was just seated,'' Zwane, who also played for Jomo Cosmos and SuperSport United, reflected.
Emile Witbooi (Dad: Bradley Ralani)
The CT City academy star is the son of Bradley Ralani, who now plies his trade for town rivals Cape Town Spurs. There's huge hopes for the teenager, as he was reportedly being tracked by Manchester United last year. Speaking to Radio 2000 last month, City chairman John Comitis offered a glowing review of the young talent, stating: "It's not often that I get excited about a young player. I did so with Thulani Serero, I did so before that with Steven Pienaar, and I'm doing it again with this kid. I can't believe what I'm seeing when I'm watching him playing in the Diski.
Aden McCarthy (Dad: Fabian McCarthy)
The Chiefs reserves star is clearly following in his dad Fabian McCarthy's footsteps, as he is also a centre-back just like his father during his heyday. The 20-year-old was reportedly born in Benoni during a period in which his dad had just moved to Naturena from Sundowns. The apple clearly has fallen far from the tree, as Aden has his sights set on breaking into the senior team.
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