Sasol Women's League
Organising body | SAFA Sasol |
---|---|
Founded | 18 September 2009 |
Country | South Africa |
Divisions | 18 |
Number of teams | 144 |
Level on pyramid | 2 |
Promotion to | SAFA Women's League |
Relegation to | SAFA Women's Regional League |
Current champions | Ezemvelo (2024) |
Most championships | Palace Super Falcons (3 titles) |
TV partners | SABC |
Website | https://sasolinsport.co.za/sasol-league/ |
Current: 2024 Sasol Women's League |
The Sasol Women's League is the second-tier South African women's association football league, sponsored by Sasol since 2013.[1] It is semi-professional,[2] and operates as a provincial league, with two "streams" of 8-10 teams in each of South Africa's nine provinces (in some cases, multiple streams per province), and each province's champion then competing in a single-location National Championship tournament.[3]
The championship's two finalists are then promoted to the (professional, first-tier) SAFA Women's League, while the bottom two teams in each province's standings are relegated to the SAFA Women's Regional League of their respective province.[4]
History
[edit]The Sasol Women's League was originally launched in 2009 as the Absa Women's League, in partnership with Absa Bank,[5][6] in order to improve the South African women's national team's international performances.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13]
At the inaugural national championship. Detroit Ladies from Mpumalanga defeated Palace Super Falcons from Gauteng via penalties after the match ended in a 3-3 draw.
At the 2010 Absa League National Championship, Palace Super Falcons from Gauteng defeated Detroit Ladies from Mpumalanga 4-2 via penalties after the match ended in a 2-2 draw.
At the 2011 Absa League National Championship, Palace Super Falcons from Gauteng defeated Brazilian Ladies from Limpopo 6-0 in the final.
At the 2012 Absa League National Championship, Palace Super Falcons from Gauteng defeated Cape Town Roses from the Western Cape 5-2 in the final.
At the 2013 Sasol League National Championship, Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies from Gauteng defeated Ma-Indies Ladies from Limpopo 2-0 in the final.[14]
At the 2014 Sasol League National Championship, Cape Town Roses from the Western Cape defeated Palace Super Falcons from Gauteng 2-1 in the final.[15]
At the 2015 Sasol League National Championship, Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies from Gauteng defeated Cape Town Roses from the Western Cape 5-0 in the final.[16]
At the 2016 Sasol League National Championship, Bloemfontein Celtic Ladies from the Free State defeated JVW from Gauteng 1-0 in the final.[17]
At the 2017 Sasol League National Championship, Bloemfontein Celtic Ladies from the Free State defeated Cape Town Roses from the Western Cape 2-0 in the final.[18]
At the 2018 Sasol League National Championship, Tshwane University of Technology from Gauteng defeated Durban Ladies from KwaZulu-Natal 4-0 in the final.[19]
At the 2019 Sasol League National Championship, JVW from Gauteng defeated Ma-Indies Ladies from Limpopo 2-0 in the final.[20]
At the 2021 Sasol League National Championship, Vasco da Gama from the Western Cape defeated City Lads from the Eastern Cape 4-3 in the final.[21]
At the 2022 Sasol League National Championship, Copperbelt Ladies from Limpopo defeated the University of Pretoria from Gauteng 3-2 via penalties after the match ended in a 1-1 draw.[22]
At the 2023 Sasol League National Championship, the University of Fort Hare from the Eastern Cape defeated Lindelani Ladies from KwaZulu-Natal 4-3 via penalties after the match ended in a goalless draw.[23]
At the 2024 Sasol League National Championship, Ezemvelo from KwaZulu-Natal defeated the University of Cape Town from the Western Cape 2-0 in the final.[24]
Annual Champions
[edit]As recorded by the league sponsor,[25] since its founding 11 different teams from 7 provinces have won the Sasol Women's League:
Season | Winner | Province |
---|---|---|
2009 | Detroit Ladies | Mpumalanga |
2010 | Palace Super Falcons | Gauteng |
2011 | ||
2012 | ||
2013 | Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies | |
2014 | Cape Town Roses | Western Cape |
2015 | Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies | Gauteng |
2016 | Bloemfontein Celtics Ladies | Free State |
2017 | ||
2018 | Tshwane University of Technology | Gauteng |
2019 | JVW | |
2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 | |
2021 | Vasco da Gama | Western Cape |
2022 | Copperbelt Ladies | Limpopo |
2023 | University of Fort Hare | Eastern Cape |
2024 | Ezemvelo | KwaZulu-Natal |
Performance by province
[edit]Province | Winners | Runners-up | Winner | Runners-up |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gauteng | 7 | 4 | ||
Western Cape | 2 | 4 |
|
|
Free State | 2 | 0 | ||
Limpopo | 1 | 3 |
| |
KwaZulu-Natal | 1 | 2 | ||
Eastern Cape | 1 | 1 | ||
Mpumalanga | 1 | 1 |
|
|
References
[edit]- ^ "SAFA Sasol Women's League - SAFA.net". South African Football Association. 26 March 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "ABOUT THE SASOL LEAGUE". Sasol in Sport. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "Sasol and SAFA launch the 2023 Sasol League National Championship". South African Football Association. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "Sasol League Regulations" (PDF). South African Football Association. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "Absa Women's League launched". SuperSport official website. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "Women's football league kicks off - Brand South Africa". Brandsouthafrica.com. 20 February 2009. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "Absa launch Women's League". Kickoff.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "Competition and Player Development : A comparison between South America and Germany" (PDF). Cies.ch. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ Cynthia Fabrizio Pelak. "Women and gender in South African soccer: a brief history" (PDF). History.msu.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ Shehu, Jimoh (18 November 2017). Gender, Sport and Development in Africa: Cross-cultural Perspectives on Patterns of Representations and Marginalization. African Books Collective. ISBN 9782869783065. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Google Books.
- ^ Cornelissen, Scarlett; Grundlingh, Albert (13 September 2013). Sport Past and Present in South Africa: (Trans)forming the Nation. Routledge. ISBN 9781317988588. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Google Books.
- ^ Alegi, Peter (14 February 2010). African Soccerscapes: How a Continent Changed the World's Game. Ohio University Press. ISBN 9780896804722. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Safa planning to launch a national women's league". Goal.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ DailyNews, Taung (1 December 2013). "Sundowns wins Sasol League Championship title". TaungDailyNews. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ Content, Print (18 December 2014). "Cape Town Roses crowned 2014 Sasol League National champions". Southern Courier. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ Phiri, Eric (15 December 2015). "Mamelodi Sundowns ladies crowned 2015 Sasol league National championship winners". STOKVEL TALK. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ "Bloemfontein Celtic crowned 2016 Sasol League National Champs - SAFA.net". 11 December 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ "Celtic defend their Sasol League National Championship title - SAFA.net". 9 December 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ AltronDev (10 December 2018). "Debutants TUT Ladies crowned 2018 Sasol League National Champions". Sasol In Sport. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ Ndumela, Mntungwa (8 December 2019). "JVW Crowned 2019 Sasol League National Champions". Sasol In Sport. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ "Vasco Da Gama crowned 2021 Sasol League National Champions - SAFA.net". 13 February 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ Kganakga, Tlamelo (24 October 2022). "Copperbelt Ladies Crowned Sasol League National Champs Winners". gsport4girls. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ "University of Fort Hare crowned 2023 Sasol League National Champions - SAFA.net". 22 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ "Ezemvelo WFC crowned 2024 Sasol League National Champions - SAFA.net". 20 October 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
- ^ "About the Sasol League". Sasol in Sport. Retrieved 11 October 2023.