The SAFA Women’s National League has already exceeded expectations, won over many local fans and is set to deliver yet another exciting weekend of high-octane action.
The inaugural event has delivered multiple firsts, caught the attention of key sponsors and there is even an agreement with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to showcase more live matches throughout the season. The talent on show has been immense and has taken women’s football to the next level while also benefitting South African football as a whole.
This coming weekend will see match-day six taking place with some interesting fixtures scheduled, including a marquee live game on national television. The games will take place on Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 13th of October.
The first of Saturday’s three fixtures (all with a 15h00 kick-off) will see third placed Bloem Celtic taking on fifth place First Touch Academy at Siwelele Park Stadium, in what should prove to be one of the matches of the weekend. Next up we will witness seventh placed Golden Ladies tackling bottom club Durban Ladies, who will be hoping to pick up their first victory of the season. The game will take place at Montshiwa Stadium.
Golden Ladies owner and coach Junior Morake stated that he is concerned about this particular fixture saying, “It is honestly a do-or-die game for us. Our opposition are bottom of the log and that means they are very dangerous. We also have a few injuries. I myself am not well and am recovering but we will make a plan to do well.”
The day’s final game will see the high-flying, top-of-the-log Mamelodi Sundowns facing fourth placed Coal City Wizards as they will be hoping to consolidate their lead at the summit with five wins from as many matches. The game is scheduled to be played at the University of Johannesburg’s Auckland Park Bunting Ground.
More Exciting Action Will Commence on Sunday
Sunday will see the second half of the weekend’s fixture taking place as Thunderbirds Ladies and UJ verse each other in an early 10h00 kick-off time in a mouth-watering mid-table clash at Nelson Mandela Stadium. This match will be shown live on SABC and marks yet another proud moment for the newly launched league.
The first of two 15h00 kick-offs will see Richmond Ladies and UWC hoping to make up some ground and pick up points in another enticing match-up at the Umziwabantu Stadium while the weekend concludes at the TUT Main Stadium as Gauteng outfit and hosts Tshwane University of Technology hope to catch log leaders Sundowns by entertaining tenth placed Tsunami Queens. Only two points behind their rivals, the home team will settle for nothing less than a full set of points while their rivals will be looking to improve their bottom-three standing.
Photo 1 Caption: Mamelodi Sundowns against UWC in the fifth round of the SAFA National Women’s League where Kabo Yellow secured a 3-0 victory to remain at the summit of the log standings on Sunday, 6 October 2019. Photo: @SAFA_net on Twitter
With editing by gsport