Bafana Bafana captain and Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Ronwen Williams' stock has risen since a breakout tournament at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Williams has been the undisputed first choice goalkeeper for South Africa since AFCON 2019. At the time, he was at SuperSport United, the club where he came through the academy.
He became Bafana Bafana captain in 2021 and joined Mamelodi Sundowns in 2022. Although he is still the vice-captain for the club, he often serves as the on-field captain when Themba Zwane is not playing.
Williams has won three South African Premiership titles, one CAF Champions League crown and one African Football League trophy. Arguably, the missing piece of the puzzle is silverware with Bafana Bafana.
Ronza's early career
Williams was born in Gqeberha - which was then known as Port Elizabeth - on January 21, 1992. He joined SuperSport United in 2004 and went on to spend 18 years on their books.
The club, who formerly contested the Tshwane Derby with Mamelodi Sundowns, is now defunct as a professional institution after their Premier Soccer League (PSL) license was bought by Siwelele FC.
Fact-check: Did he play for Tottenham Hotspur?
According to Williams, the rumours that he spent part of his youth career at Tottenham Hotspur are not entirely correct. Spurs did have a special relationship with SuperSport United, but unlike former Bafana Bafana centre-back Bongani Khumalo, Williams did not actually join the North London club.
Williams played in a youth tournament involving Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United in 2008, while at SuperSport United's academy, but that, combined with the academy partnership, was the extent of his connection with Spurs.
"When we went there and we saw the setup and saw some of the stars, you get starstruck and think [to yourself]: 'You're so close, yet so far,'" Williams told ESPN.
"It's in the back of your mind that you want to be there. Some of the guys went for trials there to train with the team and obviously, Bongani Khumalo made it, so it was in reach - but I first wanted to make a name for myself in the PSL and obviously, for the national team.
"Then, I think, the doors would have opened for me on that side, but obviously, everything happened a bit later for me - especially with the national team, where I became a regular from 2019 only. By that time, I was in my late 20s, so I knew that it was going to be very difficult to go overseas at that age."
While Williams said in 2025 that the door for a potential future European move remained open as far as he was concerned, his current club in South Africa has deep pockets and significant continental prestige.
AFCON 2024 shot him to fame
Williams was identified as one of the most talented South African goalkeepers of his generation at a young age, but it was not until AFCON 2023 - held belatedly in early 2024 in Ivory Coast - that he really caught the eyes of the world.
Williams kept a clean sheet in South Africa's 2-0 last 16 upset of Morocco, but his crowning moment came in the quarter-final against Cape Verde, when he saved four penalties in the shootout following a 0-0 draw.
Bafana Bafana lost their semi-final clash with Nigeria on penalties, but Williams was on the winning side of another shootout in the third-place playoff as Hugo Broos' side beat DR Congo.
Williams subsequently finished ninth in the rankings for the 2024 Lev Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper in the world and was more recently amongst the nominees in his position for The Best FIFA Men's 11 in 2025.
Williams won the CAF Champions League with Mamelodi Sundowns in 2025-26, having previously starred in three South African Premiership triumphs and the 2023 African Football League.
Having come close to a major honour with Bafana Bafana two and a half years ago, it could be argued that the only unfinished business in his career is with the national team.
