"Chippa" The cause of Masinga's death has been confirmed

Cape Town – Bafana Bafana the legend Phil & # 39; Chippa & # 39; Masinga died on Sunday at Johannesburg Hospital cancer, South African Football Association (SAFA) confirmed in a statement.

WATCH: & # 39; Chippa & # 39; The goal of Massage, which sent Bafan to 1998

At the beginning of last month, Masinga was admitted to the Tshepong Hospital in Klerksdorf with "undiscovered disease" and then moved to Parktown.

Additional efforts were made to bring the former striker to a private hospital to allow the 49-year-old to receive the best medical care.

Meanwhile, retired South African captain Lucas Radebe, who played with Masinga in the 1990s, said Leeds United, England's top flight club, had lost a "great legend".

"It was a great experience for us as Africans," said Radebe BBC. "We are not accustomed to the weather, and we fought a little – from time to time we are warm to each other.

"Phil was a big hit with the team and the players. I looked at him and I thought he was the most inspired. It was absolutely great as he adapted to the situation.

"It was easy for him to get together and he was the most respected man in the club."

THIS: Day "Chippa" Masinga got a 9-minute hat

A physically immense step, he got a goal that beat Congo Brazzaville 1-0 Soweto and won Bafan Bafan for the 1998 football World Cup in France.

Masinga left the middle ground and shot an unstoppable shot over the Congo goalkeeper before the power of 80,000, including President Nelson Mandela.

He was part of the 'golden generation' of South Africa, which won the 1996 African People's Cup only four years after the lifting of the international ban on apartheid.

South Africa has qualified for the 1998 and 2002 World Cup football tournaments, but since then the national team has steadily declined.

Before he moved to Lithuania in 1994, he played at local clubs Jomo Cosmos and Mamelodi Sundown.

Masinga also played in St. Gallen in Switzerland, Salernitan and Bari in Italy and Al Wahda in the United Arab Emirates.

TO READ: "Phil Masinga inspired me the most" – Radebe

From 1992 to 2001, the attacker scored 18 goals in 58 international shows.

Masinga's family has yet to discover the funeral.