Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies emerged as the winners of the inaugural edition of the Joburg Basadi Football Challenge in Shapa Soweto, coinciding with the nation’s celebration of Women’s Month.
Organized by the City of Joburg Sport and Recreation, this newly formed tournament strives to shine a light on women’s sports through the implementation of programs and events that foster women’s participation and empowerment in sports.
The inaugural edition, which took place over the weekend, featured eight women’s teams, including Mamelodi Sundowns, Wits University, University of Johannesburg, TS Galaxy Queens, Blue Birds, Blue Raycons, JWV FC and Diepkloof Ladies FC.
The Brazilians commenced the tournament with a resounding 9-3 victory over Blue Raycons. They then secured a hard-fought 1-0 win against JWV to end day one comfortably.
Banyana Ba Style ultimately clinched the tournament on day two by securing another impressive 1-0 victory, this time over UJ Ladies. Coach Jerry Tshabalala expressed satisfaction with the tournament’s timing and value, considering the anticipated hectic schedule in the coming months.
“It was a fantastic tournament for us because it gave us the chance to maintain our fitness and match readiness, considering we have not played for some time. Despite playing numerous matches in a short span, we needed the match experience to refine our strategies ahead of the resumption of the Hollywoodbets Super League and even the CAF Women’s Champions League COSAFA Qualifiers. We also fielded our talented young players like Munashe Mugwara and Katlego Malebane, along with several younger girls who played alongside the first team. This highlights the effectiveness of our youth development systems,” Coach Jerry said.
Fit-again Miche Minnies expressed satisfaction with the tournament, both on a personal level and from a collective perspective.
“Our goal was to win the tournament, considering we have not played competitive football for a while. Personally, the tournament aided in restoring my match fitness, especially after being sidelined due to injury. Scoring three goals yesterday was an excellent way to return to full fitness,” Minnies stated.
Regina Mogolola also expressed her excitement about the 100 percent record achieved at the tournament, stating, “We have several competitions that we have to participate in over the next few months and I am delighted with the perfect results we achieved in the tournament. Nonetheless, there is room for improvement and there are certain areas we can still improve on. It feels great to return to football action with a morale-boosting performance.”
The Brazilians also dominated some of the key end-of-the-tournament awards, with Sedilame ‘Tsontso’ Bosija clinching the Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament, while Lehlogonolo ‘Hlogi’ Mashigo was named the Best Player of the Tournament.
Sundowns Ladies will resume league action on Saturday, August 26th, with a match against Copperbelt Ladies.
Congratulations to our Ladies team for a spectacular outing!
Congrats to yellow Nation. Very proud of the choice l made years ago to be part of this Universal Institution