Siyabulela Mbali Shai (born 18 March 1993) is a South African

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a midfielder for

Marumo Gallants Marumo Gallants is a South African football club based in Bloemfontein, Free State, where they relocated after purchasing the status from Moroka Swallows. They currently play in the 2024–25 Premiership. They played in the Premiership for tw ...

in the

South African Premier Division The South African Premiership, also known as the Betway Premiership for sponsorship reasons, and commonly referred to as the PSL after its governing body, is a professional soccer league in South Africa and the highest level of the South Afric ...

. He hails from

Wattville Wattville is a township south of Benoni in Ekurhuleni Metropolitan municipality, Gauteng, South Africa. It was established in 1941, and by 1948, 400 houses were built on 34 hectares. After 1948, building stopped as it was threatened with destruct ...

and is a son of

Mamelodi Sundowns Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club (simply known as Sundowns) is a South African professional football club based in Mamelodi, Pretoria in the Gauteng province that plays in the Premiership, the first tier of South African football league syste ...

player

Isaac Shai Isaac Shai (born 26 February 1971) is a South African former footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a midfielder. Shai played club football for Mamelodi Sundowns; he also earned seven caps for the South African ...

. Siyabulela Shai too was given a chance at Mamelodi Sundowns, but was loaned out to several clubs. He got his

Premier Soccer League The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is the administrative body for professional soccer leagues and cups in South Africa. It is based in Johannesburg, and was founded in 1996 following an agreement between the National Soccer League and the remnant ...

debut on loan at

Chippa United Chippa United Football Club (often known as Chilli boys or Chippa) is a South African professional football club based in East London in the Eastern Cape province, having previously been based in Nyanga suburb of the city of Cape Town. The club ...

in 2014. In 2015–16 he was on loan at

Maritzburg United Durban City are a South African soccer club based in the city of Durban. Prior to the start of the 2024–25 National First Division, they were called Maritzburg United, and were based in the city of Pietermaritzburg. They were promoted to t ...

, but was recalled to Sundowns in January 2016. He departed from the Sundowns due to not getting playing time. He surfaced at the club EC Bees in 2017. The team contested the

SAFA Second Division The SAFA Second Division (known as the ABC Motsepe League for sponsorship reasons, and previously the Vodacom League between 1998 and 2012, was founded in 1998 as the overall third tier of South African association football, football. The compet ...

, but was in the round of 32 of the

2016–17 Nedbank Cup The 2016–17 Nedbank Cup is a South African club football (soccer) tournament.Nedbank Cup 2016/17

. Shai stayed in the second tier with

Black Leopards Black Leopards FC is a South African professional association football, football club based in Thohoyandou, Vhembe, Vhembe Region, Limpopo, that plays in the National First Division. History The club was founded in 1983 by business people in ...

and Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila without playing regularly. In 2019–20 he played for VOS Milan in the Regional League, which was also hampered by the

pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...

. A move to

All Stars An all-star is an individual with a high level of performance in their field. All-star or All Star may also refer to: Awards * GAA GPA All Stars Awards, annual awards given to practitioners of Gaelic games ** Camogie All Stars Awards ** Ladies' ...

was also put on hold, but in late 2020 he was finally able to restart his career in

Sekhukhune United Sekhukhune United F.C. is a South African soccer club from Burgersfort, Sekhukhune District, Limpopo, that plays in the South African Premiership. Formed when the owner of African All Stars, playing in the SAFA Second Division, purchased the Na ...

. The club was promoted to the 2021–22 South African Premier Division, which marked Shai's return to the first tier after a several-year absence. He did not play often in 2021–22, however, and was accused of "off-the-field antics". He got more playing time in the 2022–23 season, but afterwards left for Platinum City Rovers. In 2024 he returned to the first tier, signing for

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shai, Siyabulela 1993 births Living people People from Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality South African men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Men's association football wingers Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. players United F.C. (South Africa) players Chippa United F.C. players Durban City F.C. (2024) players Black Leopards F.C. players Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila F.C. players Sekhukhune United F.C. players Platinum City Rovers F.C. players Marumo Gallants F.C. players National First Division players South African Premier Division players 21st-century South African sportsmen