JVW, under the tutelage of Janine van Wyk, ended the 2025 Hollywoodbets Super League season on a high – recording their most successful campaign since promotion to the South African elite women’s football league in 2021.
After taking over from former coach Mitch Stevens at the beginning of this season, the 38-year-old retired Banyana Banyana captain, armed with a UEFA B coaching license, transformed the team into title contenders and one of the most feared teams in the league.
They are on a 13-match unbeaten run with 12 wins and just one draw – 0-0 against Copperbelt in September.
They hold the proud record of being the only team to defeat current champions Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies this season – beating them 2-1 in June. The other loss for the Brazilians was after they arrived late for a match with SAFA awarding the points to their opponents.
The Blue Diamonds have already completed their season with 30 games in the bag, rounding off the campaign and bidding Van Wyk farewell with a resounding 3-0 victory over First Touch Ladies on Saturday (22 November 2025). They conceded just one in their last five matches, scoring 15 in the process.
JVW are currently lying second on the table on 69 points – their best ever points haul, surpassing the 63 they amassed in the 2023 campaign. Last year they only managed 55 points and ended fifth.
Just this season alone, the former South African defender led the team to 21 wins – six more than the 15 in 2024. They also dropped their draw ratio from 10 last year to six, while they lost three games in 2025, two less than the previous campaign.
They have also been prolific in goals, netting an impressive 61 goals – currently second only to Sundowns Ladies who have scored a massive 79 with two games to go.
It is not clear if JVW will finish second or third as TS Galaxy Queens is breathing down their necks in third position on the table with 66 points and left with two games. The Mpumalanga outfit has to face a resurgent University of the Western Cape (UWC) and close the season against the newly crowned league champions, Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies.
JVW LEAGUE POSITIONS SINCE 2021:
- 2021:
4th
(53 points)
- 2022:
4th
(60 points)
- 2023:
3rd
(63 points)
- 2024:
5th
(55 points)
- 2025:
Currently 2nd
(69 points)
HERE’S A LOOK AT THE TWO SEASONS OF JVW:
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | PTS | |
| 2024 | 30 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 48 | 24 | 55 |
| 2025 | 30 | 21 | 6 | 3 | 61 | 20 | 69 |
While the 2025 season was a revelation for JVW, it remains to be seen if they will be able to repeat the feat in the upcoming 2026 as Van Wyk will be lost to the team.
She has taken up a position of assistant coach with Kristianstads DFF in the Swedish league.
The Bedfordview-based club is yet undecided about the person to take over the baton from the outgoing head coach, but Van Wyk, who is also the co-founder of the club with Lauren Duncan, recently hinted to SABC Sport that she may look from within the Blue Diamonds family for a successor while she starts a new and exciting journey in Europe.
Current assist coach at JVW, Alexia Cassar, could be the one in charge of the team in 2026 – she has been at the club since 2012 working her way up from player to reserve team head coach until she was promoted to the first team at start of this season.
“I am still quite reluctant to bring a new coach into the system. I’m leaning towards promoting our first assistant coach into the head coach role, with our second assistant, Coach Bafana, stepping into the assistant coach position. I’m also considering assigning one of the players to the player/assistant-coach role, as they already understand the system, which will help keep things steady and stable for next season. I truly believe that the right people to lead JVW are those who already understand the club and its culture. We’ve had a very good season this year, and the players have adapted extremely well. As we look ahead, we’ll review our approach, which may include focusing more on the growth and development of the players,” said Van Wyk.
Van Wyk is expected to leave in January for her new role in Sweden.
She was recently inducted into the SA Hall of Fame, alongside Bafana Bafana greats like Aaron Mokoena, Doctor Khumalo, Mark Fish and Mark Williams, while the late Phil Masinga and Bafana Bafana coach Clive Barker were honoured posthumously.
By Matlhomola Morake
