Chiefs face Wits Junior challenge, Tshwane derby in the GDL spotlight
This week, the country is in for two mouth-watering Gauteng Development League (GDL) clashes.
Kaizer Chiefs hosts Wits Junior at Kaizer Chiefs Village on Saturday, before Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United lock horns at Eskom Megawatt Park in a much-anticipated Tshwane Derby.
The 2025 GDL season has been unlike any year preceding it. The underdogs have taken it to the big clubs and are in the mix at the upper end of the standings. And it is not just one or two teams that have been making their mark. The gap between the big names and the smaller clubs is closing.
For a second time this season, Randburg AFC tops the u19 table. They’ve led the way, but Remember Elite Sport Academy (RESA), Joburg City, and Rockefvs, in particular, have also captured the spotlight and tamed some of the beasts of the GDL.
With this in mind, Kaizer Chiefs’ coach David Mathebula will have warned his boys against any complacency when they take on 14th-placed Wits Junior.
Last week, Mathebula’s team fell to a 2-3 loss to Panorama FC, a result that stunned not only Chiefs but also GDL observers.
The Amakhosi have also lost to RESA, Randburg AFC, and Kathorus Hyper Academy, which is why they find themselves in eighth place on the log.
Big teams, though, know how to rise to the occasion and, given that the league has reached its halfway mark, Mathebula will be intent on turning around the club’s fortunes on Saturday.
On Sunday, a fierce rivalry will resume when Tshwane powers, Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United, go at it.
The fixture brings together coaches Surprise Moriri (Sundowns) and Tumelo Ndaba (SuperSport United), both of whom are recognised for their tactically astute leadership. Time and again, their reading of the opposition has brought their charges success.
Fixtures
Kaizer Chiefs vs Wits Junior
Mamelodi Sundowns vs SuperSport United
