Khanyisa Mayo has emerged as one of the leading forwards in the DStv Premiership over the last 18 months, finishing as joint top-scorer with Peter Shalulile in the 2022/23 season and carrying that form into the current campaign.
The Cape Town City star has 18 goals in 34 top-flight starts since the beginning of the last campaign, an excellent return for a player who most often features out on the right wing.
The son of former Bafana Bafana striker Patrick Mayo, he has blossomed since arriving in the Mother City from then second-tier Richards Bay, but it has not been an easy path despite his famous father.
He reveals he thought about taking his sporting career in a different direction early on.
“In my primary school days I actually did athletics because I was fast, and then I also started playing cricket,” Mayo told SuperSport.com. “I was good at both cricket and football, and I guess there was a time I had to make a choice. I chose soccer because that was a career that was in the family already.”
In fact, Mayo’s younger brother Khanyisile, who played for Chippa United last season, initially looked the more promising of the two.
“I used to play for a local club in the LFA [Local Football Association] called Crystal Palace in Motherwell, that was where I really started out,” Khanyisa said. “I was there from under-10 level until I made it into the first team, which was playing in the SAB League [fourth-tier].
“I was probably only 14 or 15 at the time, but I was playing as a regular. I then went to Chippa United and they told me it was time to move on for a new chapter. My dad was the assistant coach in the MDC [MultiChoice Diski Challenge] team.
“After playing half a season at Chippa, where I was the leading goalscorer,
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