Twice they won the Sasol League in their province of Mpumalanga, and twice they could not crack the promotion code into the Hollywoodbets Super League as they failed at the Sasol National Champs.
They finished in sixth position in Umlazi near Durban in 2021 and failed to make any progress beyond the group stages a year later in Polokwane, Limpopo.
Their dreams were shattered, thinking they would never get to the promised land.
But there was a ray of sunshine when an opportunity to acquire a status in the Hollywoodbets Super League presented itself in the form of Vasco da Gama.
Before they knew it, the outfit from the land of the Rising Sun was in the big leagues, joining seasoned campaigners Coal City Wizards as the two representatives from Mpumalanga in South Africa’s elite women’s league.
They become the third PSL club to have a women’s team in the Hollywoodbets Super League, joining Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies and Royal AM (formerly Bloemfontein Celtic Ladies).
When the news about the acquisition broke, TS Galaxy Queens president, Duduzile Sukazi shared her excitement.
“I’m over the moon about this move. It is a dream come true for the club. We are a Club that is unapologetic in its stance towards the advancement of the football game amongst women of this country. It has been a critical part of our agenda to have our lady’s side competing in the elite league just like the men’s side. Our ladies performed with outstanding honour at the regional level, but unfortunately, that pursuit was unsuccessful in the national playoffs for two seasons on the trot. We were left with no choice but to make other means of securing Hollywoodbets status, and we’ve just done exactly that,” she said at the time.
The ambitious TS Galaxy Queens become also the third new team that will campaign in the 2023 season of the Hollywoodbets Super League following in the footsteps of 2022 Sasol League National Champs winners Copperbelt Ladies of Limpopo and runners up Tuks Ladies from Gauteng.
Following the confirmation of their new status, the Mpumalanga side went in search of players to build a solid team – knocking on doors of most clubs in the elite league.
They also held trials in Johannesburg as well as in Mpumalanga.
Several names have been linked with the Rockets, among others, experienced campaigners like Busi Ndimeni and Nothando ‘Vivo’ Vilakazi (both formerly with TUT), Nompumelelo Nyandeni (2021 and 2022 top goal scorer and formerly with JVW), Yolula Tsawe and Mamello Makhabane (both formerly with JVW).
The club would only say they will reveal their confirmed signings on Wednesday (1 February 2023).
TS Galaxy will open their campaign with a tricky outing against last season’s newcomers, City Lads Ladies of Qgeberha and will play their home games at the Solomon Mahlangu Stadium in KwaNdebele.
Centrecircle.online spoke to Dudu Sukazi to get her thoughts on the upcoming season.
First of all congratulations on securing a place in the Hollywoodbets Super League. It has always been your wish to play in this league, but unfortunately the last two attempts at the Sasol National Champs did not bear positive fruit. How and when did the idea of purchasing a status come up?
Thank you so much. Indeed it’s always been our dream as a club to have our women participate in the Hollywoodbets Super League. We gave ourselves three years to reach that goal, and our girls did well on regional league but failed twice at the national play offs – and then we knew it was time to acquire a status of another club, and we did.
What does it mean to TS Galaxy Queens to play in the elite women’s league of South Africa?
It means everything for us to have our women participate in the elite league just like our men’s team. As a club we’ve always been biased when it comes to women in football. We went as far as getting cheerleaders in 2016 just so we can see a girl child benefiting in football. So, being in the top women’s league in South Africa is very important to us.
Two teams from the Mpumalanga province are in the Hollywoodbets Super League, how will this help women’s football from that part of the world, if at all?
It will definitely help us a lot and will also benefit our women in all aspects as the vision is to have only our women running the club from me all the way to management and technical team. We want to show the world that as women, we can also make it in this male dominated business.
What does TS Galaxy Queens bring into the league? What can we expect from the Queens this season?
TS Galaxy Queens is coming up with a women-only led team and it’s the first team to be led by women only.
Having purchased Vasco da Gama, what happens to your women’s team in the Sasol League?
We just got the status and we retained a few ladies (from our Sasol League team) that we thought could help us compete in the Hollywoodbets Super League.
In terms of the aspect of the game – players and the coaching staff – who do you have and what is their mandate, if any?
We’ve signed quite a few players that are well known and who have a lot of experience in the industry, as well as a solid technical team. But watch this space as all will be revealed on Wednesday (1 February).
Based on the above, realistically, where do you see Queens finishing at the end of the season?
Leading the log is our main goal and that’s where we see ourselves. We believe we’ve formed a formidable team that can compete in this league.
What message do you have for the three new teams in the league – yourselves, Copperbelt Ladies and Tuks?
I wish them all the best and say let’s raise the game.
By Matlhomola Morake
