2014 Varsity Football

The 2014 Varsity Football challenge is the second season of a South African university association football competition. It involves some of the top football playing universities in the country, which belong to the University Sports Company. The tournament is run by Varsity Sports SA, and is endorsed by the South African Football Association and University Sport South Africa.[1]

Varsity Football Challenge
Season2014
ChampionsUP-Tuks (2nd Title)
Matches played31
Biggest home win6-0 (NWU vs UCT), (UJ vs UCT)
Biggest away win4-0 (UJ vs Tuks), (NMMU vs UFS)
Highest scoring5-1 (Tuks vs UL), 6-0 (NWU vs UCT), (UJ vs UCT), 3-3 (UCT vs UWC)
Longest unbeaten runUJ (8 games)

History

The Varsity Cup tournament was founded in 2008, featuring the rugby teams of eight universities. Varsity Sports was expanded in 2012 to include other sporting codes.[2] University Sport South Africa discussed the Varsity Football proposal at its 2012 annual general meeting. The idea was initially rejected, as it was seen to split the member institutions.[3] However, it was later accepted, and 2013 was the inaugural season of Varsity Football, with an 8 team men's tournament.[4] A four team women's tournament is also being played.[5]

Participating Teams
NMMU
NWU
UCT
UFS
UJ
UL
UP
UWC
TUT
Location of teams in 2014 Varsity Football
Blue: Men's teams only; Red: Women's teams only; Green: Men's and Women's teams.
UCT is the oldest of the competing universities
Tuks are the 2013 Varsity Sports men's football champions

The eight teams competing in the men's Varsity Football challenge are:

Varsity Football Challenge
Team Name University Stadium
NMMU MadibazNelson Mandela Metropolitan UniversityNMMU Stadium
NWU MafikengNorth-West UniversityMafikeng Sports Fields
UCT IkeysUniversity of Cape TownThe Green Mile
UFS KovsiesUniversity of the Free StateShimla Park
UJUniversity of JohannesburgAW Muller Stadium
UJ Soweto Campus Sport Complex
LimpopoUniversity of LimpopoOscar Mphetha Stadium1
UP-TuksUniversity of PretoriaTuks Stadium
UWCUniversity of the Western CapeUWC Sport Stadium

The four teams competing in the men's Varsity Football challenge are:

Varsity Football Challenge
Team Name University Stadium
UJUniversity of JohannesburgAW Muller Stadium
UP-TuksUniversity of PretoriaTuks Stadium
TUTTshwane University of TechnologyTUT Stadium
UWCUniversity of the Western CapeUWC Sport Stadium
  • 1 The University of Limpopo was unable to host any matches at Oscar Mphetha Stadium, as the stadium did not meet league standards. As such, the team played all of their matches away.

Qualification

Qualification was based on the 2013 University Sports South Africa National Club Championships. In order to qualify, men's teams need to be one of the eight highest placed teams associated with Varsity Sports.

Standings
2014 Varsity Football Log
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 UJ 7 3 4 0 19 6 +13 13
2 NWU 7 3 4 0 16 8 +8 13
3 Tuks 7 4 1 2 15 10 +5 13
4 UFS 7 3 2 2 9 9 0 11
5 NMMU 7 3 1 3 12 12 0 10
6 UWC 7 2 3 2 11 11 0 9
7 UL 7 0 3 4 6 16 −10 3
8 UCT 7 0 2 5 6 22 −16 2
Source:
Rules for classification: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw. The top 4 teams qualified for the Semi-Finals.

Format

The tournament begins with a round robin stage, in which all teams play each other once. After the round robin stage, the top 4 teams will advance to the knock-out stage. The teams ranked 1 and 2 will host the semi-finals, against the teams ranked 4 and 3 respectively. The winners will advance to the final, to be hosted by the highest ranking finalist. All matches are played on Mondays. The league scoring system follows a standard scoring system and awards 3 points are awarded for a win, and 1 point for a draw. Teams are separated first on points, and then on goal difference.

Round robin stage

The 2014 season began with the round robin stages on 21 July, which will end on 1 September.

Week 1
21 July 2014 NMMU 2 - 2 NWU Mafikeng Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape
16:30 Kieran Koert 2 Report Sandile Mbatha, Sifiso Ngwenya Stadium: NMMU Stadium
21 July 2014 UWC 2 - 2 UJ Bellville, Western Cape
18:00 Tapelo Sixishe, Wade Crowie Report Stephanis Sibanyoni, Wisdom Mathebula Stadium: University of the Western Cape Stadium
21 July 2014 UCT 1 - 1 UL Cape Town, Western Cape
18:00 Michael Salgado Report Tsietsi Tshehla Stadium: Green Mile
21 July 2014 UP-Tuks 1 - 0 UFS Pretoria, Gauteng
19:00 Lucky Mathosi Report Stadium: Tuks Stadium

Week 2
28 July 2014 UFS 2 - 0 UL Bloemfontein, Free State
16:45 Lehlohonolo Mokoena, Jay Jay Groenewald Report Stadium: Shimla Park
28 July 2014 UP-Tuks 2 - 1 UCT Pretoria, Gauteng
18:00 Lucky Mathosi, Mbongeni Masilela Report Michael Salgado Stadium: Tuks Stadium
28 July 2014 UJ 3 - 0 NMMU Johannesburg, Gauteng
18:00 Tebogo Mandyu, Ponshu Nyathi 2 Report Stadium: AW Muller Stadium
28 July 2014 NWU Mafikeng 1 - 0 UWC Mahikeng, North West
19:00 Mogomotsi Molefe Report Stadium: Mafikeng Sports Fields

Week 3
4 August 2014 UWC 1 - 2 UFS Bellville, Western Cape
16:45 Curtley Beukes Report Dumisani Tjomelane, Manxubandile Bantshi Stadium: University of the Western Cape Stadium
4 August 2014 NMMU 2 - 1 UCT Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape
18:00 Sachin Jackson, Kieran Koert Report Moussi Sopp Stadium: NMMU Stadium
4 August 2014 NWU-Mafikeng 3 - 2 UL Mahikeng, North West
18:00 Orebotse Mongae, Lebogang Phetlhu, Tshenolo Machwisa Report Clyde Kgatla, Mahlatse Mogale Stadium: Mafikeng Sports Fields
4 August 2014 UP-Tuks 0 - 4 UJ Pretoria, Gauteng
19:00 Matthew Edwards, Sandro Claro, Tebogo Mandyu, Ruben De Freitas Report Stadium: Tuks Stadium

Week 4
11 August 2014 UP-Tuks 5 - 1 UL Pretoria, Gauteng
16:45 Botshelo Mfulwane 2, Sibongile Njokwe, Lindsay Stowman, Jeremiah Nkwana Report Clyde Kgatla Stadium: Tuks Stadium
11 August 2014 UFS 2 - 2 UJ Bloemfontein, Free State
18:00 Lehlohonolo Mokoena, Manxubandile Bantshi Report Sandro Claro, Lwazi Nogenga Stadium: Shimla Park
11 August 2014 NMMU 1 - 2 UWC Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape
18:00 Lukhanyo Rasmeni Report Tapelo Sixishe, Reza Dramat Stadium: NMMU Stadium
11 August 2014 NWU-Mafikeng 6 - 0 UCT Mahikeng, North West
19:00 Thatohatsi Santos, Tshenolo Machwisa 3, Matsobane Matsi, Kagiso Modimeong Report Stadium: Mafikeng Sports Fields

Week 5
18 August 2014 UFS 0 - 4 NMMU Bloemfontein, Free State
16:45 Report Simamkele Thobi, Lukhanyo Rasmeni, Kieran Koert, Kurt Duff Stadium: Shimla Park
18 August 2014 Tuks 2 - 2 NWU-Mafikeng Pretoria, Gauteng
18:00 Mbongeni Masilela, Jeremiah Nkwana Report Lindani Dudula, Orebotse Mongae Stadium: Tuks Stadium
18 August 2014 UWC 1 - 1 UL Bellville, Western Cape
18:00 Curtley Beukes Report Theo Phophi Stadium: University of the Western Cape Stadium
18 August 2014 UJ 6 - 0 UCT Soweto, Gauteng
19:00 Pontsho Nyathi, Karl Clements, Ruben De Freitas, Sandro Claro, Lumkile Dava, Matthew Edwards Report Stadium: UJ Soweto Campus Sport Complex

Week 6
25 August 2014 NWU-Mafikeng 1 - 1 UJ Mahikeng, North West
16:45 Lindani Dudula Report Ruben De Freitas Stadium: Mafikeng Sports Fields
25 August 2014 UCT 0 - 2 UFS Cape Town, Western Cape
18:00 Report Byron Donaldson (OG), Jay Jay Groenewald Stadium: Green Mile
25 August 2014 UWC 2 - 1 UP_Tuks Bellville, Western Cape
18:00 Tapelo Sixishe, Reza Dramat Report Jeremiah Nkwana Stadium: University of the Western Cape Stadium
25 August 2014 NMMU 3 - 0 UL Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape
19:00 Kieran Koert, Onela Beqezi, Simamkele Thobi Report Stadium: NMMU Stadium

Week 7
1 September 2014 UCT 3 - 3 UWC Cape Town, Western Cape
16:45 Charlie Mbatha, Michael Salgado, Louis-Romain Moussi Sopp Report Curtley Beukes, Keenan Davis, Reza Dramat Stadium: Green Mile
1 September 2014 UJ 1 - 1 UL Johannesburg, Gauteng
18:00 Taelo Mphahlele (OG) Report Clyde Kgatla Stadium: AW Muller Stadium
1 September 2014 UFS 1 - 1 NWU Mafikeng Bloemfontein, Free State
18:00 Manxubandile Bantshi Report Kagiso Modimoeng Stadium: Shimla Park
1 September 2014 UP-Tuks 4 - 0 NMMU Pretoria, Gauteng
19:00 Jeremiah Nkwana, Simbongile Njokwe, Lundi Balfour (OG), Thabo Ndlovu Report Stadium: Tuks Stadium

Knockout stage

The top four placed men's teams progressed to the knockout stage, as did all four women's teams. The semi-finals for both men and women were played on 8 September and the finals on 15 September.

Semi-finals
8 September 2014 NWU Mafikeng 0(4) - (5)0 UP-Tuks Mahikeng, North West
16:45 Report Stadium: Mafikeng Sports Fields
8 September 2014 UJ 2 - 2 UFS Soweto, Gauteng
19:00 Wisdom Mathebula, Kaylan More Report Walter Phori, Marathodi Phillies Stadium: UJ Soweto Campus Sport Complex

Final
15 September 2014 UJ 0 - 1 UP-Tuks Soweto, Gauteng
19:00 Report Jeremiah Nkwana Stadium: UJ Soweto Campus Sport Complex

Semi-finals
8 September 2014 TUT 2 - 0 UWC Mahikeng, North West
16:00 Report Stadium: Mafikeng Sports Fields
8 September 2014 UJ 2 - 1 UP-Tuks Soweto, Gauteng
16:00 Report Stadium: UJ Soweto Campus Sport Complex

Final
15 September 2014 TUT 5 - 0 UP-Tuks Soweto, Gauteng
16:00 Mary Ntsweng (2), Palesa Mohlabai, Katlego Khwinana (2) Report Stadium: UJ Soweto Campus Sport Complex

Notable Players and Coaches

Players and coaches who have since been signed by professional clubs.

Sponsors

The tournament is sponsored by:

References
  1. "Football to get Varsity passion". Varsity Sports SA. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  2. "More sporting codes to boost varsity sports". SABC. 12 April 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-04-06. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  3. "Minutes of the USSA Football Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the University of the Western Cape, Bellville, on 06th– December – 2013" (PDF). University Sport South Africa. 6 December 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-15. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  4. "Explosive Mondays back with Varsity Football". Varsity Sports SA. 12 July 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  5. "Ladies' chance to shine". Varsity Sports SA. 6 September 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
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