Lebohang Kgosana Maboe (born 17 September 1994) is a South African professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

South African Premier Division The South African Premier Division, officially referred to as the DStv Premiership for sponsorship purposes, is the premier men's professional football/soccer league and the highest division in the league system of South Africa, organized sinc ...

club

Mamelodi Sundowns Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club (simply known as Sundowns) is a South African professional football club based in Mamelodi, Pretoria in the Gauteng province that plays in the Premier Soccer League, the first tier of South African football ...

and the South African national team. He is the son of former Moroka Swallows and Orlando Pirates player Sidwell Maboe.

Club career

Early career

The son of former professional footballer, Sidwell, Maboe began playing football in his home town of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

where he played with amateur side Ratanda Real Hearts. During his time with Hearts, he was promoted to the club's under-17 side at the age of 14 where his performances at age-group level earned him the opportunity to later join the Kaizer Chiefs academy.

Mbombela United

In 2015, Maboe signed for

National First Division The National First Division (NFD), officially known as the Motsepe Foundation Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest league of South African club association football, football after the South African Premier Division. Both t ...

side Mbombela United where he spent a solitary season. He recorded a return of 3 goals in 27 league appearances to help the club reach the PSL play-offs where they were defeated by

Highlands Park Highlands Park Football Club was a South African professional soccer club who played in Modderfontein, Johannesburg. They were founded in 2003 as a phoenix club to the earlier Highlands Park F.C. (1959) and Highlands Park F.C. (1990) The c ...

. Maboe would advance to the PSL, however, as at the conclusion of the season he was signed by top-flight side,

Maritzburg United Maritzburg United is a South African football club based in the city of Pietermaritzburg that currently plays in the Premier Soccer League. Honours *First Division Coastal Stream champions: 2007–08 *First Division Championship Play-offs: 2 ...

Maritzburg United

Maboe officially joined Maritzburg United in July 2016 where he initially joined up with the club's reserve side. He was then promoted to the first team by coach

Ernst Middendorp Ernst Middendorp (born 28 October 1958) is a German association football coach who coaches South African Premier Soccer League club Maritzburg United. Education Middendorp was born in Freren. In 1984, he enrolled in the University of Bielefel ...

who handed him his debut in October against

Free State Stars Free State Stars Football club is a South African professional football club based in Bethlehem, Free State that plays in the National First Division. Formerly known as Makwane Computer Stars and Qwa Qwa Stars, their most significant honour i ...

. He faced challenging circumstances at the club following Middendorp and his replacement

Roger de Sa Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ...

's respective resignations, but nonetheless enjoyed a strong debut season. During the latter parts of the campaign he played in every match under new coach Fadlu Davids and recorded 3 goals in 22 appearances in total. Maboe's form continued to improve the following season, particularly in the

Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's Premier Soccer League, premier club association football, soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of givi ...

where he helped the club to a runners-up finish against Free State Stars. His performances in the tournament earned him the Player of the Tournament and Most Promising Player awards. However, at the end of the season, and with Maritzburg United facing financial difficulties, he was sold to league rivals,

Mamelodi Sundowns

On the opening day of the season, Maboe was handed his debut off the bench by

Pitso Mosimane Pitso John Hamilton Mosimane (born 26 July 1964) is a South African professional football manager and a former player. He is the current manager of Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli Jeddah. He is considered as one of the greatest coaches in Africa an ...

in a 1–1 draw with Kaizer Chiefs. In the next match, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 win over Polokwane City. He ultimately scored nine goals and recorded eight assists as Sundowns retained the PSL title.

International career

South Africa

Following his success with Maritzburg United, Maboe received his first international call-up to the senior national team ahead of the

2017 COSAFA Cup The 2017 COSAFA Cup (known as Castle Lager COSAFA Cup South Africa 2017 for sponsorship reasons) is the 17th edition of the COSAFA Cup, an international football competition consisting of national teams of member nations of the Council of Souther ...

. The following year, he returned for the 2018 edition of the competition where he scored three goals in two appearances as South Africa went on to lift the Plate title; equivalent of a fifth-placed finish.

Career statistics

International

Honours and awards

;Club Mamelodi Sundowns *

: 2018–19, 2019-20 *

: 2019-20 *

Telkom Knockout The Telkom Knockout was a South African professional football knockout competition which comprised the 16 teams in the South African Premier Soccer League. The competition was established in 1982 and was first known as the Datsun Challenge. Under ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

;Individual *

Player of the Tournament:

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Most Promising Player:

References

Notes Citations {{DEFAULTSORT:Maboe, Lebohang 1994 births Living people South African soccer players Association football midfielders Maritzburg United F.C. players Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. players South African Premier Division players South Africa international soccer players Mbombela United F.C. players 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players