A supercharged lineup for Nedbank Grey College Soccer Tournament
One of South Africa’s premier schools’ football events, the Nedbank Grey College Soccer Tournament, kicks off on Saturday, in Bloemfontein.
St Stithians College has won the tournament back-to-back, but they’ll face a stiff challenge trying to make it a hat-trick of titles in 2025.
Last year, they staged an incredible comeback, losing their first two matches – 1-2 to Grey College and 0-2 to Pretoria Boys High – before getting their campaign back on track with a 3-2 win over George Royal Academy.
Saints could not afford to slip up again, and they didn’t. They needed a penalty shootout to oust Kimberley Boys’ High in the semi-finals, however, and then beat Robinvale to lift the title.
They’re in Pool D, where Kimberley Boys’ High will be one of their opponents. They’ll also face a familiar foe in the form of Jeppe High School for Boys, who’ve put together an impressive season. The challenges of Witbank High and Bloemfontein South High will be enhanced because they’re not as well-known as some of the other teams.
The group is completed by Westville Boys’ High, who’ve been a bit off the boil since winning the Mancosa KZN Coastal A-League title at the end of the second term. However, they’re well-coached and not short of quality. Their challenge, like that of the other coastal schools, will be in adjusting their games to the high altitude of Bloemfontein. The ball travels further and it bounces higher, too. on Bloem’s hard fields.
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St David’s Marist Inanda, who won the Nedbank Challenge Cup at home in August, would love to add another prestigious Nedbank title to their list of achievements. They’re in Group A and they’re a team that could make serious waves.
Perhaps, their greatest challenge will come from the local side, Navalsig High, which has pushed Grey College for supremacy in Bloemfontein in this and recent seasons.
Victoria Park, another school with a proud football legacy, flies the Eastern Cape’s flag, while the Waterstone Super Cup winners, Curro Thatchfield, also pose a threat. KZN’s Glenwood High, who’ve been a little off the torrid pace they set the previous two years, will view the tournament as an opportunity to adjust the trajectory of their season, while Vaal High, as a late addition, brings an unknown challenge to the table.
Group B features four schools that traditionally feature among the best in all sports – Durban High School (DHS), King Edward VII (KES), Pretoria Boys High, and Wynberg Boys’ High – and there’s something cool about seeing traditional powers taking on one another.
At the inaugural Association of Public Boys’ Schools of South Africa (APBSA) Football Festival, hosted by KES in July, the home team showed up well in similar conditions to those they will face in Bloemfontein. So, too, though, did Parktown Boys’ High, Pretoria Boys High, Jeppe, and St David’s Marist Inanda, and they’ll all be in action at the Nedbank Grey College Soccer Tournament.
Local sides, Brebner and Hlodisa Technical High complete the group and, based on their past records, they could be the teams to beat, especially playing in familiar conditions. Last year, Brebner finished seventh and Hlodisa twelfth, but at their best they’re tough to beat. Just two seasons ago, Brebner won the Nedbank Challenge Cup at St David’s.
The hosts, Grey College, will fancy their chances in Group C. Among the teams participating in the Nedbank Soccer Challenge, they were the second-best finishers at the Absa Wildeklawer Soccer Tournament earlier this year, ending sixth, just one place behind Navalsig.
Interestingly, they beat Navalsig in the fifth-place playoff in the 2024 Grey College Nedbank Soccer Tournament. Norkem Park High, who are also in Group C, made the final of the inaugural Curro Halala Cup and will bear watching, Grey College finished third there, claiming bronze after a win over, you guessed it, Navalsig.
Parktown Boys’ High has enjoyed a strong year, and they could challenge, too, while Uitenhage’s Strelitzia High and Empangeni High, from Zululand, who contested the KZN Coastal A-League for the first time this year, bring something of the unknown to the group.
The lineup is completed by Bloemfontein’s St Andrew’s School. Their football programme is still young, but they’ve picked up some good results in recent times, and they could pull off a surprise or two.
GROUPS
Group A: Glenwood High, St David’s Marist Inanda, Curro Thatchfield, Victoria Park High, Vaal High, Navalsig High
Group B: Durban High School (DHS), King Edward VII (KES), Pretoria Boys High, Wynberg Boys High, Brebner High, Hlodisa Technical High
Group C: Empangeni High, Norkem Park High, Parktown Boys’ High, Strelitzia High, St Andrew’s School, Grey College
Group D: Westville Boys’ High, St Stithians, Jeppe High School for Boys, Witbank High, Kimberley Boys’ High, Bloemfontein South High
FIXTURES
Saturday, 4 October
Round 1 – 08:00 – 09:15
Glenwood vs St David’s, Field 1
DHS vs KES, Field 2
Curro Thatchfield vs Victoria Park, Field 3
Pretoria Boys High vs Wynberg, Field 4
Vaal High vs Navalsig, Field 5
Brebner vs Hlodisa Technical High, Field 6
Round 2 – 09:25 – 10:40
Empangeni vs Norkem Park, Field 1
Westville vs St Stithians, Field 2
Parktown Boys’ High vs Strelitzia, Field 3
Jeppe vs Witbank, Field 4
St Andrew’s School vs Grey College, Field 5
Kimberley Boys’ High vs Bloemfontein South, Field 6
Round 3 – 10:50 – 12:05
Wynberg Boys’ High vs Hlodisa Technical High, Field 1
Victoria Park vs Navalsig, Field 2
DHS vs Brebner, Field 3
Glenwood vs Vaal High, Field 4
KES vs Pretoria Boys High, Field 5
St David’s vs Curro Thatchfield, Field 6
Round 4 – 13:30 to 14:45
Witbank vs Bloemfontein South, Field 1
Strelitzia vs Grey College, Field 2
Westville Boys’ High vs Kimberley Boys’ High, Field 3
Empangeni vs St Andrew’s School, Field 4
St Stithians vs Jeppe, Field 5
Norkem Park vs Parktown Boys’ High, Field 6
Round 5 – 14:55 – 16:10
KES vs Brebner, Field 1
St David’s vs Vaal High, Field 2
Pretoria Boys High vs Hlodisa Technical High, Field 3
Curro Thatchfield vs Navalsig, Field 4
Glenwood vs Victoria Park, Field 5
DHS vs Wynberg Boys’ High, Field 6
Saturday, 4 October
Round 6 – 08:00 – 09:15
St Stithians vs Kimberley Boys’ High, Field 1
Norkem Park vs St Andrew’s School, Field 2
Jeppe vs Bloemfontein South, Field 3
Parktown Boys High vs Grey College, Field 4
Empangeni High vs Strelitzia, Field 5
Westville Boys’ High vs Witbank, Field 6
Round 7 – 09:25 – 10:40
Curro Thatchfield vs Vaal High, Field 1
Pretoria Boys High vs Brebner, Field 2
KES vs Wynberg Boys’ High, Field 3
St David’s vs Victoria Park, Field 4
DHS vs Hlodisa Technical High, Field 5
Glenwood vs Navalsig, Field 6
Round 8 – 10:50 – 12:05
Parktown Boys’ High vs St Andrew’s School, Field 1
Jeppe vs Kimberley Boys’ High, Field 2
St Stithians vs Witbank, Field 3
Norkem Park vs Strelitzia, Field 4
Westville Boys’ High vs Bloemfontein South, Field 5
Empangeni High vs Grey College, Field 6
Round 9 – 13:30 – 14:45
DHS vs Pretoria Boys High, Field 1
Glenwood vs Curro Thatchfield, Field 2
St David’s vs Navalsig, Field 3
KES vs Hlodisa Technical High, Field 4
Wynberg Boys’ High vs Brebner, Field 5
Victoria Park vs Vaal High, Field 6
Round 10 – 14:55 – 16:10
Westville Boys’ High vs Jeppe, Field 1
Empangeni High vs Parktown Boys’ High, Field 2
Norkem Park vs Grey College, Field 3
St Stithians vs Bloemfontein South, Field 4
Witbank vs Kimberley Boys’ High, Field 5
Strelitzia vs St Andrew’s School, Field 6
Playoffs to follow on Monday, 6 October, and Tuesday, 7 October.
