With Lyle Foster having recently secured promotion to the Premier League, we take a look at 15 South African stars who have competed in the English Championship, following the aforementioned forward's success with Burnley.
The story
Burnley secured a place in the 2025/26 Premier League last week, marking Foster’s second promotion to England’s top flight from the second tier.
His first promotion came in 2023 during his initial six months at Turf Moor under then-manager Vincent Kompany.
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To date, Foster has made 38 appearances in the Championship, placing him seventh among South African players with the most matches in the division, according to Transfermarkt.
Former Cardiff City, Fulham, and Crystal Palace midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi remains the only South African to have made more than 100 appearances in the Championship.
Elsewhere, the likes of Kamohelo Mokotjo, Aaron Mokoena, and Matthew Pattison have also surpassed the 50-match mark for Brentford, Portsmouth, and Norwich City respectively.
Here’s the full list of South African footballers who have featured in the English Championship, as per Transfermarkt:
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Kagisho Dikgacoi – 104 matches
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Kamohelo Mokotjo – 94 matches
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Aaron Mokoena – 55 matches
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Matthew Pattison – 51 matches
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Tokelo Rantie – 41 matches
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Bongani Khumalo – 40 matches
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Lyle Foster – 38 matches
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Davide Somma – 33 matches
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Dean Furman – 32 matches
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Kgosi Ntlhe – 14 matches
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Lars Veldwijk – 12 matches
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Quinton Fortune – 6 matches
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Lucas Radebe – 3 matches
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Mark Fish – 1 match
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Bally Smart – 1 match
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