Veteran South African Sports Journalist Sy Lerman Dies Aged 88

• Sy Lerman leaves behind a career that stretched across more than six decades of South African sport
• His byline became familiar across football, tennis, cricket and major international sporting events
• The veteran journalist also played a notable role in documenting a changing South African sporting landscape

South African sport is mourning veteran journalist Sy Lerman, who died aged 88 on Sunday, 30 August 2026, after a career spanning more than six decades.

Lerman became one of the country’s best-known sportswriters after beginning his journalism career in the early 1960s. He worked across several major publications and covered some of the biggest sporting events in the world.

The South African reported that Lerman was the first recipient of the South African Sportswriter of the Year award and was later named CNN African Sportswriter of the Year.

Football remained a major part of his legacy

Lerman’s work extended across FIFA World Cups, Wimbledon, Davis Cup tennis and world championship boxing.

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However, South African football remained central to his career. He documented the domestic game through apartheid and the eventual transition towards non-racial sport.

His reporting captured the careers of influential football figures and the pioneers who helped challenge racial barriers within the game.

Lerman was also inducted into the South African Sportswriters’ Hall of Fame in 2010.

A sportsman beyond the press box

Away from journalism, Lerman was an accomplished tennis player. He won six South African veterans’ titles and was a long-standing club champion at Troyeville.

He also played league cricket for Balfour Park alongside former South African captain Ali Bacher.

For generations of readers, Lerman’s greatest contribution was his record of South African sport. His work preserved stories from an era of profound change and leaves behind a substantial journalistic legacy.

Springbok legend Joggie Jansen dies at 78 after All Blacks clash

Briefly News also reported that Springbok legend Joggie Jansen died on Sunday, 30 August 2026, aged 78, just hours after South Africa defeated New Zealand at Cape Town Stadium.

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Jansen earned 10 Test caps between 1970 and 1972 and made his international debut against the All Blacks at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. His career included a memorable tackle on New Zealand wing Wayne Cottrell during the 1970 clash, which South Africa won 17-6.

Source: Briefly News