Diepkloof Ladies Head Coach Muzi Khazamula says it took a lot of character for his team to gain promotion to the Hollywoodbets Super League and also clinch the 2025 SAFA Women’s National Championship.
In only their first attempt at the tournament, they defeated Limpopo’s Ramatlaohle 1-0 in a rain-soaked final at the Vaal University of Technology’s Isak Steyl Stadium on Saturday (13 November 2025).
They played just one season in the second tier of South Africa’s women’s football league – commonly called the Sasol League – and qualified for the National play-offs as Gauteng representatives after finishing second behind champions Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies who were not able to play in the tournament because they have a team in the Hollywoodbets Super League.
Despite being runners up, Diepkloof Ladies had an impressive run, winning 23 of their 30 matches with two draws and five defeats to end up with 71 points – just six behind the reigning champions. The Sowetans were also not shy in front of goal, banging in 84 and conceded 35.
But it was at the play-offs where it mattered the most.
Road to the Final:
Diepkloof Ladies
| Group Stages: | |||
| Diepkloof Ladies | 0 – 2 | Ramatlaohle | |
| Diepkloof Ladies | NR (no result) | Stellenbosch | |
| Diepkloof Ladies | 12 – 2 | Royal Wizards | |
| Semi-final: | |||
| Diepkloof Ladies | 3 – 2 Pen (0-0) | Super Strikers | |
| Final: | |||
| Diepkloof Ladies | 1 – 0 | Ramatlaohle |
Diepkloof Ladies got off to a terrible start, going down 0-2 to experienced campaigners, Ramatlaohle but then bounced back to claim a 12-2 win over a Northern Cape’s Royal Wizards and book their spot in the last four with a second-place finish in Group A after Stellenbosch’s (Western Cape) run in the tournament was halted by the courts.
The semi-final was not a walk in the park, and the Soweto outfit needed penalties to edge out a tough Super Strikers (Mpumalanga) 3-2 after a goalless stalemate at regulation time.
Armed with the advantage of a win their first meeting, Ramatlaohle threw everything at Diepkloof Ladies in the final played in pouring rain. But tournament hosts stood firm and scored the all-important goal in the second half through Mmakgotso Lepota to finally realise their dream.
“I feel like I’m still dreaming, but reality is starting to sink in that we did it. But it was not an easy job, our preparations were very good, we came up against good teams, and they all came here wanting to win but we had no choice but to represent Gauteng well, and we are proud that we did,” said Khazamula.
The last time a Gauteng team qualified for the Hollywoodbets Super League was back in 2019 when JVW were crowned national champions, when they defeated Limpopo side Ma-Indies Ladies who have since been relegated (2023) from the South African elite women’s football league.
Diepkloof Ladies is now the sixth team in Gauteng to feature in the Hollywoodbets Super League, joining Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies, JVW, Tuks, TUT and UJ Ladies.
Khazamula says he is well aware of what awaits them in the Hollywoodbets Super League.
“It’s not going to be easy that’s why I said as management there’s no time to rest. We have been following this league, and we know what to expect. But for the first season, we have no pressure, just need to survive relegation, retain our status, learn as much as we can,” added the Diepkloof Ladies mentor.
WINNERS:
| YEAR | WINNERS | RUNNERS-UP |
| 2019 | JVW (Gauteng) | Ma-Indies Ladies (Limpopo) – relegated in 2023 |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic | |
| 2021 | Vasco da Gama (Western Cape) – sold status in 2023 | City Lads Ladies (Eastern Cape) |
| 2022 | Copperbelt Ladies (Limpopo) | University of Pretoria (Gauteng) |
| 2023 | University of Fort Hare (Eastern Cape) | Lindelani FC (KwaZulu Natal) – relegated in 2024 |
| 2024 | Ezemvelo (KwaZulu Natal) | UCT (Western Cape) |
| 2025 | Diepkloof Ladies (Gauteng) | Ramatlaohle (Limpopo) |
Diepkloof Ladies Chairman, Ernest Maleka has also applauded his players for this remarkable feat, adding that they needed a bit of luck.
“We are very lucky because the Gauteng Sasol League is very difficult – I know this very well as I owned teams in other provinces and it was not this difficult. Over and above that, the other biggest challenge about this league is that when a player performs well teams from the higher leagues poach them. So, I think luck was on our side this time around as we lost good players during the season, but we managed to get that second position finish. The plan was to be provincial champions in Gauteng but after losing players to Wits Wniversity and First Touch in Limpopo our season became more difficult. I am really proud of these ladies,” said Maleka.
“My biggest biggest headache now is to challenge Hollywood super league. I am not the kind of a chairman who just want to be in the league just to add the number, I would like to challenge and compete. My biggest problem will be to get the sponsor – if I manage to get one, I will be able to add more experienced players and compete. We need to represent Gauteng well in the Hollywoodbets Super League.”
CentreCircle.online spoke to Khazamula after their victory against Ramatlaohle and this is what he had to say.
How does it feel like being gaining promotion and also being crowned national champions?
I feel like I’m still dreaming, but reality is starting to sink in that we did it. But it was not an easy job, our preparations were very good, we came up against good teams and they all came here wanting to win it but as Gauteng representatives we told ourselves that it’s been a long time since a team from this province was promoted and won the national play-offs, so we had to do it this season. We had no choice but to represent Gauteng well, and we are proud that we did.
Will the experience gained in the SAFA Women’s Championship help in the Hollywoodbets Super League?
It’s definitely going to help us! Yes, it’s a step higher but when you have a mission and vision of where you want to go it helps a lot. Before we started with this project, we sat down all the players in a meeting, and we explained to them what we wanted. They bought into the vision and whatever we spoke about happened the way we planned it. Now that we have secured promotion to the Hollywoodbets Super League there is no time to rest, we have to start preparing as management, but we will give the players a three-week rest. In the second week of January 2026, we regroup and start preparations for the new season with all the players.
What did it take for Diepkloof Ladies to achieve this?
Character, family bond, commitment from management, commitment from the players and we had only one goal – we wanted to win the game and the trophy, nothing else. I have been saying that we cannot allow teams from all over the country to come to our home in Gauteng and win this tournament when we are the hosts. We had the advantage, this is VUT and we are from just around the corner, we have played some of the games here so that helped because we know they field very well. And I told my players that because of the wet weather the team that we played against is from Limpopo, my hometown, which is always hot, and they will not be able to do well in this kind of weather, which helped us because we are always under these conditions.
What do you think your chances will be in the Hollywoodbets Super League?
It’s not going to be easy that’s why I said as management there’s no time to rest. We have been following this league and we know what to expect ,hence our first step is to go and get good players to add to the squad – we have to have a big squad because we’re going to travel, we’re going to have problems with injuries and, also, if you check our team some of the players age is no longer on their side. We feel that we have to improve in various departments – we need an experienced defender, we need a quality striker – if we want to compete. But for the first season, we have no pressure, just need to survive relegation, retain our status, learn as much as we can so that the following season we can start setting more goals.
By Matlhomola Morake
