17 July 2018 – The much anticipated 2018 SAB League National Championship has kicked off in Umlazi, near Durban.
There were goals galore as the ten teams vie for a place in the semi-final and ultimately to be crowned champions of the event, which is South Africa’s largest and most successful grassroots football development league.
Eight matches were played on Day 1 at the King Zwelithini Stadium, and produced a total of 23 goals – the majority of them coming from the hosts KwaZulu Natal and USSA (University Sports South Africa), sharing eight goals between them.
The home side defeated Northern Cape 4-0, the latter suffering their second loss of the day after going down 3-0 to Mpumalanga in the earlier match.
USSA redeemed themselves with a 4-0 victory over Eastern Cape – earlier they were beaten 2-1 by Limpopo.
In other matches, Gauteng proved to be too strong for Free State, while North West brushed aside Western Cape – with 2-0 and 3-0 wins respectively.
Mpumalanga could not repeat their morning heroics as they were held to a goalless draw by Free State – in the only match that did produce any goal. Limpopo continued their winning streak and are now on six points following their 2-1 win over Western Cape in the last match of the day.
The SAB League National Championship pits the provincial champions as well as a university select side against one another in a display of the finest grassroots football the country has on offer.
Over the years, the tournament has established itself to be the hub of identification of players in the country, with players such as overseas-bound Percy Tau and his Bafana Bafana teammate Siphesihle Ndlovu both products of the SAB League.
Gauteng are the defending champions, after beating 2016 winners, USSA.
The tournament runs from 17 – 22 July.
Man of the Match Recipients:
(each winner walks away with one-thousand rand – R1000.00)
Vusi Ntokozo Nkambule – Mpumalanga (Northern Cape vs Mpumalanga)
Phatudi Mehlape – Limpopo (USSA vs Limpopo)
Thamsanqa Mzimkhulu – Gauteng (Free State vs Gauteng)
Mmusetsi Malebo – North West (Western Cape vs North West)
Armstrong Gumbi – KZN (Northern Cape vs KwaZulu Natal)
Dylan Murchie – USSA (USSA vs Eastern Cape)
Siphelo Baloni – FS (Free State vs Mpumalanga)
Thulani Ngobeni – Limpopo (Limpopo vs Western Cape)
SAB U21 National Championships Draw Results:
17 July – 22 July 2018
| Group A | Group B |
| Northern Cape (A1) | USSA (B1) |
| Mpumalanga (A2) | Limpopo (B2) |
| Free State (A3) | Western Cape (B3) |
| Gauteng (A4) | North West (B4) |
| KwaZulu Natal (A5) | Eastern Cape (B5) |
| Day 1 RESULTS:
Tuesday, 17 July 2018 |
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| Northern Cape | 0 – 3 | Mpumalanga | |||
| USSA | 1 – 2 | Limpopo | |||
| Free State | 0 – 2 | Gauteng | |||
| Western Cape | 0 – 3 | North West | |||
| Northern Cape | 1 – 4 | KwaZulu Natal | |||
| USSA | 4 – 0 | Eastern Cape | |||
| Mpumalanga | 0 – 0 | Free State | |||
| Limpopo | 2 – 1 | Western Cape | |||
| Day 2 FIXTURES:
Wednesday, 18 July 2018 |
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| A4 | vs | A5 | 09H00 | Field A | |
| B4 | vs | B5 | 09H00 | Field B | |
| A1 | vs | A3 | 11h00 | Field A | |
| B1 | vs | B3 | 11h00 | Field B | |
| A2 | vs | A4 | 13h30 | Field A | |
| B2 | vs | B4 | 13H30 | Field B | |
| A3 | vs | A5 | 15h30 | Field A | |
| B3 | vs | B5 | 15h30 | Field B | |
LOG STANDINGS AFTER DAY 1:
Group A
| Teams | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | ||
| 1. | Mpumalanga | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2. | Free State | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |
| 3. | KwaZulu Natal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | |
| 4. | Gauteng | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 | |
| 5. | Northern Cape | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | -6 | 0 | |
GROUP B:
| Teams | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | ||
| 1. | Limpopo | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6 | |
| 2. | North West | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| 3. | USSA | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | |
| 4. | Western Cape | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -4 | 0 | |
| 5. | Eastern Cape | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 0 | |