Central SA
NW government to give Bafana-Bafana legend a state funeral─── PULANE CHOANE 13:47 Tue, 22 Jan 2019
The North West Provincial Government says it has been granted permission by President Cyril Ramaphosa to give the late Bafana Bafana forward, Philemon "Chippa" Masinga, a special official funeral.
This is according to the spokesperson at Premier Job Mokgoro's office, Vuyisile Ngesi, who said that Masinga will receive a Category 2 special funeral, which is often for distinguished persons specifically designated by the President of South Africa upon request by a Premier of a Province. Masinga died on 13 January after a long battle with cancer. The funeral service will be held on Thursday in Stilfontein at the Khuma Stadium near his hometown in Klerksdorp.
Ngesi said that Premier Mokgoro will deliver the eulogy at the funeral on behalf of the Provincial Government. Meanwhile, the provincial government has also organised a memorial service for the legend and this service will commence at the said stadium on Tuesday at 11:00. This follows after another memorial was held for Masinga yesterday at the Grace Bible Church in Johannesburg, Gauteng, which was attended by dignitaries and members of the local soccer fraternity such as Masinga's former teammate, Lucas Radebe.
He was 49 years old' and leading up to his death, he was admitted to Tshepong Hospital in Klerksdorp last month before being transferred to Johannesburg. According to Africa News Agency (ANA), Masinga represented South Africa in 58 international games, scoring 18 goals. He played for the English club Leeds United and moved to St Gallen in Switzerland in 1996, after which followed spells in Italy with Salernitana and Bari, among others. He will be remembered fondly for scoring the goal that took South Africa to the 1998 Soccer World Cup in France.
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