A season in numbers – 50 facts & stats from the 2023/24 campaign
The 2023/24 season was a historic one for Stellenbosch FC as the club was crowned Carling Knockout and DStv Diski Challenge champions. Here are 50 facts and stats from a record-breaking campaign.
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- Stellenbosch FC won its first topflight trophy after being crowned the first-ever champions of the newly branded Carling Knockout competition.
- The club’s reserve team was crowned DStv Diski Challenge champions for the second time.
- Stellenbosch FC recorded their best-ever finish to a top-flight domestic campaign after ending the season in third position in the DStv Premiership standings. Jayden Adams helped South Africa achieve a third-place finish at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations in January.
- Stellenbosch FC recorded a domestic double over four teams, namely Orlando Pirates, Cape Town City, Royal AM, and TS Galaxy.
- Iqraam Rayners became the first player to score five goals in a single match for Stellenbosch FC, and only the second in DStv Premiership history after James Chamanga, when he scored all five goals in the club’s 5-0 win over Polokwane City.
- Jayden Adams recorded six assists in the DStv Premiership, the joint-most in the competition alongside Higor Vidal of TS Galaxy and Darwin Gonzalez of Cape Town City.
- Seven Stellenbosch FC players and staff were nominated across 10 categories at the 2023/24 PSL awards ceremony.
- Stellenbosch FC scored eight goals in four matches en route to winning the 2023/24 Carling Knockout trophy.
- The club won nine home matches at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch this season.
- Iqraam Rayners scored 10 goals at the Danie Craven Stadium in the DStv Premiership – the most home goals by any player for a single club in the competition.
- Eleven players who have previously played for Stellenbosch FC’s reserve team featured for the first team during the 2023/24 season, while two more were unused substitutes at different stages of the season.
- Twelve players made their debut for Stellenbosch FC during the 2023/24 season, including four players who had previously played for the club’s reserve team.
- Thirteen different players scored for Stellenbosch FC throughout the campaign across all competitions.
- Stellenbosch FC recorded a club-record 14 wins in the DStv Premiership during the 2023/24 season.
- Iqraam Rayners scored 15 goals during the 2023/24 DStv Premiership season – the most ever by a Stellenbosch FC player in a single campaign. SFC Ladies’ Lethuthando Mthembu helped South Africa U-15 team win the U-15 African Schools Championship.
- Stellenbosch FC’s U-16 team was crowned 2023 FC Kapstadt champions.
- Rayners scored a club-high 17 goals across all competitions, the most ever by a Stellenbosch FC player in a topflight season.
- With footballers from Gambia and Ivory Coast representing Stellenbosch FC this season, players from a total of 18 different foreign countries have now turned out for the club. Stellies’ U-18s were also crowned Engen Knockout Challenge and Engen Champ of Champs champions.
- Devin Titus climbed to second position on the club’s all-time goalscoring charts after taking his tally to 19 career goals across all competitions. The club also recorded 19 clean sheets across all competitions.
- Langelihle Phili, Tyler Cicero, and Tylon Smith were called up to represent South Africa at U-20 level.
- Three players aged 21 or younger featured for the first team throughout the season.
- At 22 years of age, Jayden Adams became the youngest player to reach 100 appearances for Stellenbosch FC and just the fifth player to reach the milestone overall.
- Eleven players aged 23 or younger featured for Stellenbosch FC throughout the season.
- The club completed the majority of the season with a 24-man squad, the smallest of any team in the division.
- Between September 2023 and May 2024, Stellenbosch FC embarked on a club-record run of 25 matches without defeat across all competitions.
- Iqraam Rayners received 26% of the votes to win the inaugural SFC Rama Fans Player of the Season award.
- At the age of 27 years, 4 months & 13 days, Deano van Rooyen became the first player to feature in 150 matches for Stellenbosch FC across all competitions.
- Iqraam Rayners played a hand in 28 goals for club and country (17 goals & 8 assists for Stellenbosch FC and 2 goals and 1 assist for Bafana Bafana).
- Rayners has also taken his overall tally of goals in the DStv Premiership to 29 in just 60 matches across his two spells with the club.
- Only three players aged 30 or over featured for Stellenbosch FC throughout the season, all of whom are goalkeepers.
- Nhlanhla Mgaga made 31 substitute appearances during the 2023/24 season, the most by any Stellenbosch FC player.
- With 62 goals scored and 30 conceded, Stellenbosch FC ended the season with a +32-goal difference across all competitions.
- At the age of 33, Sage Stephens achieved a top-flight club record of 15 clean sheets across all competitions.
- A total of 34 different players featured in a matchday squad for Stellenbosch FC throughout the season.
- Antonio van Wyk achieved a club-high top speed of 35.9 km/h during Stellenbosch FC’s league encounter against Kaizer Chiefs in April.
- At 36 years of age, captain Lee Langeveldt was the oldest player to feature for Stellenbosch FC throughout the season.
- Stellenbosch FC scored 37 goals during the second half of matches across all competitions this season.
- Iqraam Rayners scored 38.5% of Stellenbosch FC’s goals during the 2023/24 DStv Premiership campaign – the largest individual contribution to a team’s cause by any player in the division.
- Rayners and Devin Titus featured in 39 of Stellenbosch FC’s 41 matches throughout the season, the most of any players from the club.
- Stellenbosch FC surpassed the 40-point mark in the DStv Premiership for the third consecutive season and went on to breach the 50-point mark for the first time.
- Stellenbosch FC played 41 competitive matches across all competitions during the 2023/24 season, the most ever in the club’s history. Rayners was the only player to feature in every matchday squad.
- Antonio van Wyk scored the club’s first goal of the season in the 42nd minute of a 1-0 win over Orlando Pirates at Danie Craven Stadium.
- Stellenbosch FC averaged a goal every 43 minutes across the MTN8, Carling Knockout, and Nedbank Cup competitions this season.
- The club scored 44% of its DStv Premiership goals in the first half of matches.
- Ismael Toure, Stellenbosch FC’s No. 45, scored the all-important goal in the club’s Carling Knockout final victory over TS Galaxy.
- Stellenbosch FC scored more DStv Premiership second-half goals between the 46th and 90th minute (22) than any other team in the competition,
- Substitutes have scored a total of 47 goals for Stellenbosch FC since the club’s formation in 2016.
- Langelihle Phili, Stellenbosch FC’s No. 48, won the U-18 Engen Knockout Challenge and Champ of Champs and DStv Diski Challenge and made his senior debut in the same season.
- The club is one win away from recording 50 victories in the DStv Premiership since earning promotion in 2019. Andre de Jong scored Stellies’ first-ever Carling Knockout goal in the 49th minute of a 2-1 win over Chippa United.
- Stellenbosch FC recorded a club-record 50 points in the DStv Premiership, breaking the previous record of 47 set in the 2021/22 campaign.
BONUS. Stellenbosch FC scored a club-record 62 goals across all competitions.
BONUS. Stellenbosch FC recorded a league-record 69 points in the DStv Diski Challenge.