2023 Sasol League graduates, University of Fort Hare (UFH) and Lindelani Ladies, started life in the big leagues with an impressive display – showing their big sisters a thing or two.
The stellar performance could serve as great motivation for the teams that are about to kick-start their 2024 season in the Sasol League month in all the nine provinces of South Africa.
At the end of the campaign, nine provincial winners will battle it out for the big prize – being crowned national champions, with the added incentive of the top two being promoted to the Hollywoodbets Super League for the 2025 season.
UNIVERSITY OF FORT HARE 2 – 1 TUT MATSATSANTSA LADIES:
Having travelled that path, UFH, based in the Eastern Cape, shocked all and sundry when they not only won their first Hollywoodbets Super League fixture of 2024, but also beat their more established and experienced opponents, TUT Matsatsantsa Ladies 2-1 at the Davidson Stadium in Alice.
LINDELANI LADIES 3 – 0 THUNDERBIRDS LADIES:
Just over 700km away in Durban, Lindelani Ladies were on the same mission at the King Zwelithini Stadium as they annihilated Thunderbirds Ladies from the Eastern Cape with an impressive 3-0 win. Thanks to their goal-scoring spree, the Durbanites were top of the table overnight on Saturday (2 March 2024), before being unseated by reigning league champions Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies 24-hours later after they scored one goal more in a 4-0 demolition of Royal AM.
So no matter what happens down the road in the league, Lindelani can say with pride they have once held the number one spot in the Hollywoodbets Super League, more importantly, in their first season.
UFH and Lindelani Ladies were promoted to the Hollywoodbets Super League October last year at the Sasol League National Champs Play-offs in Bloemfontein – the students were crowned national champions with the KwaZulu Natal outfit coming second beating seven other provincial winners to the to top:
QUALIFIED TEAMS FOR THE 2023 SASOL LEAGUE NATIONAL CHAMPS:
Royal Wizards (Northern Cape)
Sasol Juventus (Mpumalanga)
Royal Queens (North West)
University of Cape Town (Western Cape)
Ixias FC (Free State)
Ramatlaohle Ladies (Limpopo)
Croesus Ladies (Gauteng)
But the winning pair had to wait for five months before tasting life in the South African elite women’s football – but it seems the wait was worth it. After one round of fixtures has been played in the Hollywoodbets Super League, Lindelani Ladies sit third on the table, while UFH is sixth.
RESULTS OF FIRST LEAGUE MATCHES AFTER PROMOTION:
2021:
- JVW: Won
(beat Ma-Indies Ladies 5-1)
- Ma-Indies Ladies: Lost
2022:
- Vasco da Gama: Lost
- City Lads Ladies: Lost
2023:
- Copperbelt Ladies: Won
(defeated University of Pretoria 2-1)
- University of Pretoria: Lost
2024:
- University of Fort Hare: Won
(defeated Thunderbirds Ladies 3-0)
- Lindelani Ladies: Won
(beat TUT Matsatsantsa 2-1)
Although it’s still early days, this is a remarkable achievement by the newly promoted teams – their victories matching what was done by only two other sides, JVW (2021) and Copperbelt Ladies (2023), who won their first matches after gaining promotion.
It is also the first time that both sides registered victory – perhaps an indication that Sasol League teams are getting stronger, and with a lot of determination and planning, can hold their own in the elite women’s football league.
HOW THE PROMOTED SASOL LEAGUE TEAMS HAVE PERFORMED:
2021:
- JVW: 4th place finish
- Ma-Indies 8th
2022:
- JVW: 4th
- Ma-Indies Ladies: 8th
- City Lads Ladies: 12th
- Vasco da Gama: 14th
2023:
- JVW: 3rd
- University of Pretoria: 6th
- Copperbelt Ladies: 12th
- City Lads Ladies: 13th
- Ma-Indies Ladies: RELEGATED
- Vasco da Gama: STATUS SOLD
2024:
- JVW: ??
- University of Pretoria: ??
- Copperbelt Ladies: ??
- City Lads Ladies: ??
- University of Fort Hare: ??
- Lindelani Ladies: ??
Since 2021, all the six promoted Sasol League teams have managed to maintain their status in the big league – with only Ma-Indies Ladies of Limpopo the odd one out after suffering the pain of relegation at the end of 2023.
Prior to that, Western Cape’s Vasco da Gama lasted only one season before selling their status to TS Galaxy Queens from Mpumalanga.
To date, JVW is the best performing team from the Sasol League as they managed their highest ever finish of third place in the 2023 league campaign.
The Sasol League was formed in 2009 when the petroleum giants formed a partnership with the South African Football Association (SAFA) – providing over 3600 female players, made up of 16 teams in each province, a platform to showcase their skills all year long.
In addition, it was to broaden the talent pool for the national women’s football teams – U17, U20 and Banyana Banyana.
Over the years the alliance has seen amazing results and achievements, among others:
- London 2012 Olympic Games
- Rio 2016 Olympics Games
- 2017 CAF Women’s National Team of the Year award – Banyana Banyana
- Silver Medal: 2018 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations
- FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019
- Gold Medal: 2022 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations
- FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023
By Matlhomola Morake
