South Africa’s Tylon Smith has been named Best Player of the TotalEnergies CAF U-20 AFCON after victory in the final at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo.

The 20-year-old defender was instrumental in Amajita’s maiden title win, performing consistently throughout the tournament and aiding Amajita in qualifying for the U-20 FIFA World Cup. Smith scored against Nigeria in the semifinal to send Amajita to the final and denied Morocco multiple chances in the final.

The youngster signed his first professional contract with Stellenbosch FC in October, opting to stay in his hometown after representing their youth and reserve teams.

Amajita met Morocco for the second time in the U-20 AFCON final and avenged their performance in 1997 by reversing the result, besting Morocco 1-0 to lift the trophy for the first time.

Having turned 20 during the tournament, Smith will still be eligible to represent South Africa at the U-20 FIFA World Cup in Chile from September to October.