Ronwen Williams On The Brink Of History In Soweto Showdown

On Wednesday night at Soccer City, the spotlight will not only be on the title race. It will quietly rest on a goalkeeper who has built a career on consistency, discipline and relentless professionalism.

If Ronwen Williams takes his place between the posts for Mamelodi Sundowns against Orlando Pirates, he will make his 519th league and cup start. That number matters. It draws him level with Neil Tovey, one of South African football’s most respected figures.

For a player who made his professional debut as a teenager from Gqeberha, this moment feels both earned and symbolic.

A Milestone Built On Years Of Consistency

Williams began this season on 494 career starts after 12 seasons at SuperSport United and now four at Sundowns. Since then, the numbers have kept ticking upward.

This campaign alone he has started 14 of Sundowns’ 15 league matches. Add six African Champions League games and four domestic cup fixtures, and he is already on 24 appearances for the season.

At 34, he is not slowing down.

His journey began just days after his 19th birthday in 2011, when he kept a clean sheet on debut for SuperSport United against Matlama of Lesotho in a Champions League preliminary round match. Few could have predicted that the teenager would go on to become one of the most reliable goalkeepers in Premier Soccer League history.

Chasing Giants Of The Game

Matching Tovey’s 519 starts will place Williams joint second on the all-time list of league and cup appearances in South African professional football.

Only one man stands clearly ahead.

Edries Burton holds the record with 592 league and cup starts across a 17-season career at Santos, Cape Town Spurs and AmaZulu. His tally does not include substitute appearances. Burton retired at 38, leaving behind a mark that has stood for years.

Williams still has ground to cover if he wants to chase that figure. But in modern football, where player movement and squad rotation are constant, longevity of this level is rare.

He has already broken the record for most games played by a goalkeeper, surpassing Moeneeb Josephs’ previous mark of 489 matches last season. He is also just the fourth player to cross the 500-start milestone, joining Burton, Tovey and Vuyo Mere. Mere holds the record for the most seasons played, finishing his remarkable 23-season career at TS Galaxy in 2024.

That is elite company.

More Than Just Appearances

Statistics tell one story. Silverware tells another.

Williams has collected three league titles, three Nedbank Cups, one Telkom Knockout and two MTN8 winners’ medals. Add more than 50 caps for Bafana Bafana, and you begin to see the full picture.

On social media this week, fans have praised his durability and leadership. Sundowns supporters have called him the backbone of their dominance. Pirates fans, meanwhile, admit that breaking down Williams on a big night in Soweto will be no small task.

In a league often criticised for instability and short-term thinking, Williams represents something different. Patience. Growth. Loyalty.

Why This Moment Feels Bigger

There is something fitting about this milestone potentially happening at Soccer City. The venue has hosted some of the biggest nights in South African football history, from World Cup glory to Soweto Derby drama.

Now it could witness another chapter.

Whether Williams eventually catches Burton or not, equalling Tovey’s 519 starts cements his place among the modern greats of the PSL era.

From a teenage debutant in Lesotho to a record-chasing captain at Sundowns, Ronwen Williams has quietly written himself into the record books.

And on Wednesday night in Soweto, history may stand still for just a moment.

{Source:SuperSport}

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