United Eleven walk away with league title
Bathurst team United Eleven will not even have to put their boots on this weekend to walk away with the title for the Sarah Baartman Stream A soccer section in the 2023/24 Safa Men’s Regional League.
Last Sunday they beat Mighty Forest 3-2. The day before, Mighty Forest toppled Port Alfred’s Young Pirates 4-2, and United dealt Friendly City a devastating 6-3 defeat.
At a now unassailable 36 points, United Eleven have decisively won Stream A.
The next closest on 24 points are Marselle outfit Junior Sundowns, with Friendly City just one point behind. Fourth on the table are Makhanda team Makana Rhini United (MARU).
According to Safa, the regional league works on the following format:
• The men’s Regional League season begins each year in September and runs until the end of the season when the National Championships are played. More than 2,000 soccer clubs, comprising a total of more than 50,000 players participate in the league on a weekly basis.
• The countrywide competitions lead to the provincial playoffs at the end of each season.
This eventually results in a total of 18 teams, divided into two teams per province, promoted to the Safa Second Division.
• As a culmination of the Regional League season, provincial squads are selected across all nine provinces, plus an invitation team from the University Sports South Africa (Ussa), to compete in the National Championships. The 10 teams are pitted against each other in a public draw, conducted by Safa.
The Sarah Baartman Regional League’s A Stream includes teams from Marselle, Bathurst, Port Alfred, Makhanda and Alicedale.
Locally, the league started on October 8 2023.
This weekend will see the final matches played for the season.
“United Eleven have already won the A stream,” secretary for Safa’s Sarah Baartman region, Bongani Mashibo said.
“This weekend’s matches will be to decide who are the runners-up.”
Saturday April 27
Mamityi Gidana Sports Ground (Port Alfred)
1pm: Mighty Forest v Friendly City
3pm: Young Pirates v Makana Rhini United
Sunday April 28
JDDlepu Sports Ground (Makhanda)
1pm: Young Eagles v Makana Rhini United
Sunday April 28
Mamityi Gidana Sports Ground (Port Alfred)
3pm: Young Pirates v City Pirates
Sunday April 28
Mamityi Gidana Sports Ground (Port Alfred)
3pm: Mighty Forest v Jacaranda Aces