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Cape Town - Bafana Bafana legend Phil Masinga was on Thursday laid to rest in his hometown at Khuma Stadium in the North West with the funeral service attended by family, friends and football dignitaries.
Masinga was laid to rest in Stilfontein, where he grew up with supporters alongside politicians and fellow football legends paying their last respects.
The small mining town, with a population of 18 000 came to a standstill to celebrate its greatest hero with hundreds of fans making their way from as far as Johannesburg to attend.
The 48-year-old was also given a memorial service which was led by former team-mate and Bafana legend Lucas Radebe in Soweto, Johannesburg on Monday.
Radebe failed to fight back the tears as he recounted their days together at English side Leeds United where they formed a strong bond when both moving away from home for the first time.
Masinga played 58 times for the national team, scoring on 18 occasions. He lost a long-running battle with cancer on January 13 and leaves behind three children, and wife Ntombi Nombewu.
"When it comes to death, when it's someone who is close to you...it's difficult," Radebe said. "Football sometimes isn't as glamorous as it seems and having Phil at Leeds made it that much easier for me.
"I called someone connected to Leeds to share the news that Phil had passed on, and he literally started sobbing uncontrollably... even later saying he was heading to drown his sorrows at a bar.
"That is the impact that Phil had on people wherever he went, he was loved by everyone."
