Tefu Mashamaite

Bidvest Wits

Mashamaite joined Bidvest Wits when he was on the verge of joining the South African Defence Force in 2005 after signing an apprentice contract and being promoted by then youth coach, Boebie Solomons after he had been at the development structures for two years. He did not make an appearance and was loaned to Brixton-based Stars of Africa Academy under Farouk Khan with the likes of May Mahlangu, Tokelo Rantie and Sibusiso Khumalo. Mashamaite later made his professional debut on 11 March 2007 in a 2–0 loss to Moroka Swallows. He scored his first goal on 29 October 2008 in a 2–1 loss to Mamelodi Sundowns. Mashamaite returned to Wits in the 2008/09. An injury to his captain Sibusiso Mahlangu forced Roger de Sa to assign Mashamaite as a captain temporarily and he later became the permanent captain. Mashamaite scored a brace in a 4–2 win over Mamelodi Sundowns on 16 September 2009 in a space of two minutes between the 72nd and 74th minute, both with his head. He was a key figure when Bidvest Wits won the Nedbank Cup, beating AmaZulu 3–0 at FNB Stadium on 22 May 2010. By the end of his spell with The Students he had 74 starts and 9 goals.

Kaizer Chiefs

Mashamaite joined Chiefs in July 2011 from Wits to replace the outgoing Valery Nahayo who left for KAA Gent in Belgium. Mashamaite made his official Chiefs debut in a 2–0 win at Moroka Swallows on 17 August 2011. He scored his first goal for the Club in a 2–0 win over Chippa United in September 2012.…

Mashamaite was given his first national call-up by Pitso Mosimane in 2010. He made his debut on 2 June 2013 in a 2–0 over Lesotho. Mashamaite was part of South Africa's 2014 CHAN squad and he only played one match against Nigeria.

FifaPlayerRatings.com described Mashamaite as a player stating that "his default approach is to contain his man due to his below-average aggression. In these cases it might be more advantageous to attempt to dispossess the attacking player, since he's a relatively savvy tackler. Tefu Mashamaite will occasionally read passing lanes and intercept opponent passes because of his comparatively high interceptions rating. He'll excel at smothering attackers on set pieces and corner kicks, and will typically be one of the first players to respond to changes within a play (e.g. clearing a rebound off the post) due to his relatively high reactions rating. Physically, he takes longer than most players to reach top speed, which only exacerbates his comparatively slow pace. He's not as strong as most defenders, but his above-average jumping ability will help him compete for headers.

Mashamaite grew up in rural Bochum about 90 km north-west of Polokwane. Mashamaite was born as his mother's only child, he only met his father when he was 10 years old. He saw him six times before he died in 2010. Mashamaite started playing soccer in 1999 for Dipitsi in Bochum and playing as a defender wearing number 5.