The battle lines have been drawn in the GladAfrica Championship which is a fight for a spot in the Premier Soccer League’s DStv Premiership.
The journey to see which team will gain promotion to the elite league starts on 27 November.
Cape Town Spurs, then Ajax Cape Town had an oh-so-close finish during last season’s championship where they were on top of the log standings until the last two weeks of the campaign, only to be unseated by their nearest rivals, Swallows FC.
There is no doubt that they will be coming back with the sole purpose to redeem themselves in the 2020/21 season. New boys on the block, Polokwane City, will mount a fight of their lives in the hope for a quick return to the DStv Premiership following a difficult campaign last season that saw them relegated.
There will be three fixtures on Saturday and two on Sunday. On Saturday, Free State Stars, who were relegated two seasons ago, will begin their journey to reclaim their place in the premiership when they host Uthongathi FC at Goble Park.
Uthongathi (something about us) had an impressive start to the previous season only to fade towards the end. This time around, they will be hoping things will be different and that lady luck will be on their side to enable them to challenge for the crown.
Also on Saturday, Sekhukhune United, a Meyerton-based side, will make its championship debut against Royal AM, another new name in the championship. TS Sporting and Cape Umoya United will complete Saturday’s fixture list at the Kabokweni Stadium in Mpumalanga.
Cape Town All Stars, another familiar name making a return to the championship will play at home against JDR Stars at Parrow Park. The last fixture of the opening weekend will see University of Pretoria (Tuks) play against Richards Bay at Tuks Stadium in Tshwane.
Speaking at the announcement of the fixtures, PSL spokesperson Luxolo September congratulated the newly-promoted sides, Bizana Pondo Chiefs from the Eastern Cape and Pretoria Callies from Gauteng who will make their championship debuts on the weekend of 5 and 6 December.
“The battle lines have now been drawn and all that is left for the men to emerge among the boys, come end of the championship,” September said.
