‘Old men’ of the ABC Motsepe League fail again
ALEXANDRA - Hope City Giants, as Alex United are fondly known, will now grow grey hair in the ABC Motsepe League after failing to gain promotion.
Alexandra’s only hope for a potential Premier Soccer League team, Alex United, has again failed to make the grade for the National First Division (NFD) which is one league below the premier division.
The Hope City Giants, as United are known to their faithful fans in Alexandra, narrowly failed to qualify for the promotional playoffs. The team finished third in the ABC Motsepe League with 65 points compared to 68 for league winners JDR Stars, and second-placed AmaBEE FC on 66.
Only winners of the provincial leagues of the ABC Motsepe qualify for the national promotional playoffs. Stars were crowned champions but failed to qualify after being beaten in the playoffs.
United have been in this league since time immemorial when it was known as the Vodacom League and later the Safa Second Division League.
In the past five years, Hope City Giants have missed the opportunity to play in the national promotional playoffs by a whisker. They have since taken on the unenviable status of being the ‘old men’ of this league.
Meanwhile, the two winners of each of the two streams of the national promotional playoffs, Magesi FC of Limpopo and Kings United FC of KwaZulu-Natal, have been welcomed into the NFD fold by acting chief executive of the Premier Soccer League, Mato Madlala.
The two clubs were promoted in the playoffs and will now form part of the 32 teams of the National Soccer League (NSL), which is the mother body for professional football in South Africa.
“We would like to take this opportunity to welcome them to the NSL family and we look forward to working closely with them through our induction process,” Madlala said.
Magesi, formed in 2011, will be the second club from Limpopo in the NFD together with Black Leopards, replacing another Limpopo side, Baroka FC who have been promoted to the premier division.
Kings United join the likes of AmaZulu, Thanda Royal Zulu and Royal Eagles as one of the many clubs from KwaZulu-Natal which ply their trade in the NFD.
The two clubs that were relegated from the NFD are African Warriors and the famous Dube Birds of Soweto, Moroka Swallows.
