The fixtures have been set, and this year’s Varsity Football men’s tournament will kick off on Thursday, 25 July 2019.
This will be the seventh edition of the tournament, which was launched in 2013 and has grown into an institution of its own among South African footballer lovers.
Defending champions TUT are back in action this year, as are UP-Tuks, UWC, UKZN, UJ and NWU Mafikeng. They will be joined by the two Bloemfontein-based universities: CUT and UFS Kovsies. The pair return to the tournament (at the expense of Wits and Limpopo who lost their places at the 2018 USSA tournament) for the first time since 2017 and 2014 respectively, and will play their first ever derby in Round 4.
The recently released fixtures boast a number of interesting clashes, with UP-Tuks vs TUT being the hottest fixture of the opening round. The former will also host a double-header – featuring TUT, NWU Mafikeng and UJ – in Round 3.
Considering TUT have featured in each of the last four finals (winning in 2016 and 2018), they may start as favourites to join UP-Tuks on three titles come the final on Thursday, 26 September 2019. However, they’ve lost coach Bushy Moloi and a number of key players to the professional ranks such as former captain Elliot Seema (Highlands Park), Vusi Sibiya and Sikhumbuzo Ncube (both Baroka). Meanwhile, 2018 top goal scorer Godfrey Mahlale has completed his fourth year of his Economics degree.
To see the who against, when and where of your favourite varsity will play, see the full 2019 Varsity Football men’s fixtures here: #iyachesa
by Guy Ellis Brown
