Gauteng Schools Champions League kicks off with a bang
The eagerly awaited third edition of the Gauteng Schools Wednesday Champions League kicked off on Wednesday at the Kagiso Memorial and Recreation Centre in Krugersdorp.
The league features a four-week period of intense participation from high-performing schools in the Gauteng province, who compete in three sporting codes: football, netball, and volleyball.
In 2024, Clapham High School, won the Iber Cup South Africa and the Absa Wildeklawer Soccer Tournament. They also went back-to-back as the champion of the Gauteng Schools Wednesday Champions League football competition.
In the girls’ football category, Jabulile Secondary School achieved back-to-back titles.
The Gauteng Schools Wednesday Champions League is a proud initiative of the Gauteng Provincial Government, and its aim is to advance the development of school sports by focusing on increasing participation and creating opportunities for talent identification in school sports.
Boys’ Competition
On Wednesday, in the boys’ football competition, Clapham High kicked off their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Ibongo Secondary School.
It was an unexpected start for the champions, who are accustomed to dominating their opponent. Ibongo, though, stood firm and were relentless in their efforts as they came away with a share of the spoils.
While Clapham was held to a draw, the School of Excellence soared, beating Mokgome Secondary 4-0 and Rutasetjhaba Secondary School 3-0.
Well beaten in their first outing, Mokgome regrouped and rebounded well, to hand Ibongo a 2-0 defeat in their second march.
On the first day of the tournament, Rosina Sedibane Modiba Sport School also excelled. They opened with a 3-0 victory over Rutasetjhaba and followed that with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Thuto Lefa Secondary School to come away with a full haul of six points.
In their second match, Thuto Lefa played to a 1-1 draw with Je Malepe Secondary School.
Girls’ Competition
While Clapham High’s boys’ team made a stuttering start to their campaign, their girls’ side had no such problems, rattling the back of the net to the tune of 15 goals on the opening day without conceding.
They began their assignments with a 3-0 win over Jabulile Secondary School and then hit top gear in a 12-0 shellacking of Randfontein High.
Khanya Lesedi Secondary School got off to a difficult start, sharing a 1-1 draw with Buhle BemFundo before falling 1-2 to Jabulile Secondary.
Randfontein High, apart from their one-sided loss against Clapham, was also beaten 4-0 by Zithobeni Secondary School. Zithobeni, though, lost their second match, suffering a 1-2 loss to Anchor Independent Academy.
Then, against Tembisa High, Anchor Independent Academy couldn’t find the back of the net, but neither could Tembisa, and they settled for a goalless stalemate.
In the final match of the day, though, Tembisa High put four past Buhle Bemfundo as they ran out 4-1 winners.
Results – u17 Boys
Rosina Sedibane 3-0 Rutasetjhaba
School of Excellence 4-0 Mokgome
Je Malepe 1-1 Thuto Lefa
Clapham High 1-1 Ibongo
School of Excellence 3-0 Rutasetjhaba
Rosina Sedibane 2-1 Thuto Lefa
Mokgome 2-0 Ibongo
Results – u17 Girls
Clapham 3-0 Jabulile
Jabulile 2-1 Khaya Lesedi
Khaya Lesedi 1-1 Buhle BeMfundo
Clapham 12-0 Randfontein
Zithobeni 4-0 Randfontein
Tembisa High 4-1 Buhle BeMfundo
Tembisa High 0-0 Anchor
Anchor 2-1 Zithobeni
