In South Africa, quite a few footballers have followed in their siblings’ footsteps, and the PSL story of the Mugeyi twins, William and Wilfred, is sure to take many down memory lane.
In truth, twins who have managed to forge successful football careers simultaneously remain a rarity. The mention of twins in the PSL will undoubtedly trigger reminiscing about the exploits of the gangly Mugeyi brothers.
These twins took the PSL by storm in the early 1990s. Wilfred and William started their careers in Zimbabwe, illuminating the now-defunct side of Black Aces. William was deservedly crowned Soccer Star of the Year in 1992.
But Zimbabwe has also been blessed with footballing twins who burst onto the South African scene to make an impact. Peter and Patrick Mubayiwa played for Witbank Spurs between 2013 and 2017.
The Moyo twins, Kelvin and Elvis, played for Chippa United in 2019 before returning to Zimbabwe, where they now play for Dynamos.
THE MUGEYI BROTHER’S UNTOLD PSL STORY
But the Mugeyi brothers are the most notable to have graced the PSL. They both played for Bush Bucks in the early ’90s.
William played as a defender, while Wilfred was a striker. But it is the former who played for quite a number of clubs before retiring.
He also played for Maccabi Haifa, Vanguard Huandao, Ajax Cape Town [now Cape Town Spurs] and FS Stars. So identical were the Mugeyi brothers that they often confused referees.
Consequently, they would sometimes be punished for each other’s offences on the field of play, pushing them to find a way to differentiate themselves.
“During our first days in South Africa, referees had problems identifying who was who between us. That was a challenge.
“But it happened that one of the days, I was punished for what Wilfred had done. We tried to tell the referee who had made the offence, but the referee did not take any of it.
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“So, on that day, we decided to find a way to be different. We opted to have first names on our jerseys. With my brother, we decided that I wear dreadlocks to make it easy for us.
”That was the only way out since we played for one team. After I removed them, he also started dreadlocks so we won’t be found in such situations again,” William Mugeyi told SoccerNews24.
In addition to the PSL, the Mugeyi twins played for the Zimbabwe Warriors in what was famously known as the Dream team.
Currently, the twins run a football academy called Mugeyi Sports Academy, located at Kidds Beach and Willow Park in East London.