4 December 2017 – The scene is set for the kickoff of the 2017 Sasol League National Championship at the Kabokweni Stadium in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga on Monday, 4 December 2017.
There will be three matches played on Day 1.
Defending champions Bloemfontein Celtic Ladies will start the defence of their title with a titanic clash against 2016 champions Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies in the opening match.
The Group C clash kicks off at 10h30.
In Group B, hosts Coal City Wizards will lock horns with RC Mills of Northern Cape at 13h00, while the two debutants – De Scorpion (North West) and Sunflowern KwaZulu Natal) – will welcome each other to the championship at 15h30 in Group C.
“On behalf of the South African Football Association (SAFA), the President of the Association, as well as the entire National Executive Committee (NEC), let me welcome you to this beautiful province of ours. We just hope you will enjoy your stay. I can tell you now that it is going to be very tough during the tournament but I request that you remain calm, and do your best to grow this brand of women’s football. Let us make this tournament a memorable one for all,” said Brains Zulu, Deputy Chairperson of the SAFA Competitions Committee and also SAFA NEC member.
His words were echoed by Sasol representative, Brenda Mopeli.
“On behalf of Sasol, it’s good to see women being part of the organising committee because this is about them. This is an exciting year for us, more so because we have just renewed our partnership with SAFA, and that was just an indication that we will continue to support women’s football. Congratulations to all the teams for making it this far – for being champions in your provinces – and to all the debutants in the tournament, you are welcome and I hope you make the best of it,” said Mopeli.
This is the 9th edition of the tournament, which will see the winners getting a whopping 200-thousand rand – an increase of 150-thousand rand from 2016.
Runners up will pocket 100-thousand rand – 65-thousand rand more than the previous second place winner.
Other awards include Diski Queen of the Tournament, Goalkeeper of the Tournament, Top Goalscorer of the Tournament, Most Promising Queen of the Tournament, as well as the Queen of Queens of the Tournament – each winner will walk away with 5-thousand rand.
The Diski Queen of the Match, in every game, will take home two-thousand-rand (R2000.00).
The fans are also in for a treat as they will stand a chance to win daily grocery vouchers for the duration of the tournament – from Day 1 until the final.
The tournament provides a platform for the nine (9) provincial winners of the Sasol Leagues to battle it out for the top honours of being crowned the national champions.
The inaugural competiton was won by Detroit Ladies of Mpumalanga.
Gauteng has won it five times (Palace Super Falcons – 2010, 2011, 2012; Mamelodi Sundowns – 2013, 2015).
The other provinces to have won this prestigious women’s tournament are Western Cape (Cape Town Roses – 2014; and Free State (Bloemfontein Celtic Ladies – 2016).
In 2017, three teams will be making their debut – Sunflower (KZN), Thunderbirds (EC) and De Scorpions (NW).
The defending champions are the only side to have been ever present since the inception of the tournament in 2009, before eventually winning it in 2016.
Coming a distant second is Cape Town Roses – they missed out in 2009 as well as in 2016.
This year the tournament will be hosted by Coal City Wizards who finished in fourth place in 2016.
The competition runs from 4-9 December 2017.
The three group winners will be joined by the best runner up in the semi-final.
PREVIOUS WINNERS:
2009 Detroit Ladies (Mpumalanga)
2010 Palace Super Falcons (Gauteng)
2011 Palace Super Falcons (Gauteng)
2012 Palace Super Falcons (Gauteng)
2013 Mamelodi Sundonws (Gauteng)
2014 Cape Town Roses (Western Cape)
2015 Mamelodi Sundowns (Gauteng)
2016 Bloemfontein Celtic Ladies (Free State)
2017 TBC
2017 Sasol League National Championship Results:
Winners: Bloemfontein Celtic (Free State)
Runners up: JVW FC (Gauteng)
3rd Place: Kanatla FC (Limpopo)
4th Place: Coal City Wizards (Mpumalanga)
5th Place City Lads Ladies (Eastern Cape)
6th Place Durban Ladies (KwaZulu Natal)
7th Place: UWC (Western Cape)
8th Place: Golden Ladies FC (North West)
9th Place: Richmond Ladies FC (Northern Cape)
Prize Money:
2016 2017
- R50 000 R200 000
- R35 000 R100 000
- R25 000 R60 000
- R20 000 R40 000
- R18 000 R30 000
- R16 000 R25 000
- R14 000 R20 000
- R12 000 R15 000
- R10 000 R10 000
FIXTURES:
DAY 1
Monday, 4 December 2017
Bloemfointein Celtic vs Mamelodi Sundowns 10h30
Coal City Wizards vs RC Mills 13h00
De Scorpions vs Sunflower 15h30
DAY 2
Tuesday, 5 December 2017
RC Mills vs Thunderbirds 10h30
Sunflower vs Cape Town Roses 13h00
Mamelodi Sundowns vs Kanatla Ladies 15h30
DAY 3
Wednesday, 6 December 2017
Cape Town Roses vs De Scorpions 13h00
Kanatla Ladies vs Bloemfontein Celtic 13h00
Thunderbirds vs Coal City Wizards 15h30
DAY 4
Thursday, 7 December 2017
7th/8th Place Play Off:
Best 3rd Placed vs 2nd Best 3rd Placed 09h00
5th/6th Place Play Off:
2nd Best Runner-up vs 3rd Best Runner-up 11h15
Semi-Final 1:
Winner Group vs Best 2nd Placed 13h30
Semi-Final 2:
Winner Group vs Winner Group 15h45
DAY 5
8 December 2017
REST DAY
DAY 6
9 December 2017
3rd/4th Place Play Off:
Loser Semi-Final 1 vs Loser Semi-Final 2 11h30
FINAL:
Winner Semi-Final 1 vs Winner Semi-Final 2 15h00