The Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot is an annual association football award presented by the Premier Soccer League to the leading goalscorer in the

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 ...

. The award, colloquially known as the PSL Golden Boot or simply the Golden Boot, has been presented since the inception of the post- apartheid format of the league in 1996. It was named in 2003 in honour of

Lesley Manyathela Lesley Phuti Manyathela (4 September 1981 – 9 August 2003) was a South African professional soccer player who played as a striker for Premier Soccer League club Orlando Pirates and the South African national team. A prolific goalscorer, Man ...

, a South African international footballer and former recipient of the award who died in a motor vehicle collision in August of that year. Wilfred Mugeyi was the first recipient of the award after he scored 22 goals for

Bush Bucks Bush Bucks is a South African association football club. The club was founded in 1957 and originally based in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape. In 2001, the team moved to East London, Eastern Cape, East London. It was nicknamed ''Imbabala (The Bucks)' ...

in the inaugural Premier Division season. He is one of five players to have scored 20 or more goals in a season alongside

Pollen Ndlanya Pollen Ndlanya (born 22 May 1970 in Daveyton) is a retired South African footballer who played as a striker. He played for Kaizer Chiefs, Manning Rangers, Bursaspor, Göztepe, Amazulu and Orlando Pirates. He also played for South Africa ...

, Collins Mbesuma,

Siyabonga Nomvethe Siyabonga Eugene Nomvethe (; born 2 December 1977) is a South African former professional soccer player who played as a forward. Nomvethe played in several European leagues. Nomvethe represented the South Africa national team from his debut on ...

and

Peter Shalulile Peter Shalulile (born 23 October 1993) is a Namibian professional footballer who plays as a striker for South African Premier Division side Mamelodi Sundowns and the Namibia national team. Club career Peter is a product of Tura Magic FC in Nami ...

. Mbesuma holds the record for the most goals scored in a single campaign following his return of 25 goals for

Kaizer Chiefs Kaizer Chiefs Football Club (often known as Chiefs) are a South African professional football club based in Naturena, Johannesburg South, that plays in the Premier Soccer League. The team is nicknamed ''AmaKhosi'', which means "Lords" or "Chie ...

in the 2004–05 season. He was also the first player to have won the award more than once, having claimed the trophy for a second time during his spell with Mpumalanga Black Aces in 2016, while Shalulile equalled this record in 2022. Bernard Parker holds the record for the fewest goals needed to win the award, with his return of 10 goals for Kaizer Chiefs in the 2013–14 season earning him the accolade. The award has only been shared twice in the Premier Division's history, an occurrence which first took place in the 2017–18 season after

Rodney Ramagalela Rodney Ramagalela (born 10 January 1989) is a South African professional soccer player who last played as a forward for Premier Soccer League club Black Leopards. Career He started his professional career with Black Leopards before having spel ...

Polokwane City Polokwane City Football Club is a South African professional football club based in the city of Polokwane in the Limpopo province that currently plays in the second tier National First Division. The team currently plays its home matches at the P ...

and Percy Tau of Mamelodi Sundowns both ended the campaign on 11 goals. Players from

Moroka Swallows Moroka Swallows Football Club (often known as simply Swallows or The Birds) is a South African professional football club based in Soweto in the city of Johannesburg in the Gauteng province. Founded in 1947, Swallows are one of the original two ...

and Kaizer Chiefs have won the award the most times, with each club having four unique winners.

Winners

Awards won by nationality

Awards by club

References

{{featured list Premier Soccer League African football trophies and awards 1997 establishments in South Africa