Virginia High kicks off Absa Wildeklawer with emphatic win

The fifth edition of the Absa Wildeklawer Soccer Tournament kicked off in Kimberley on Friday afternoon, with only eight matches played. A chock-a-block schedule follows on Saturday.

The tournament hosts, Kimberley Boys’ High, faced a tough opener against Northern Academy, but pushed the Limpopo school hard before succumbing to a 0-1 defeat.

Northern Academy finished only 12th last year, one place behind Kimberley Boys’ High. However, they’ve won some major titles in the past two years, including the Sanlam Kay Motsepe Schools Championship in 2024 and the inaugural Curro Halala Cup last year. No doubt, they’re laser-focused on adding the Absa Wildeklawer title to those prestigious titles.

Norkem Park, the runner-up to Northern Academy at the Curro Halala Cup, suffered an unexpected loss to Gqeberha’s Victoria Park High, who scraped a tight 1-0. Vic Park is one of the Eastern Cape’s leading lights, along with Urban Academy, which won the Victoria Park Soccer Challenge earlier this year.

Queen’s College, from Komani, in the Eastern Cape, took on the defending champions, Virginia High, in their opener, but found themselves overrun, suffering a 0-5 defeat. Fikile Yena, Oageng Lebesane, Thato Kraal, and Opmphemetse Mokiri all scored from the field for Virginia High, while Kabelo Mokhuane slotted a penalty for the Free Staters.

The 2024 champions, Clapham High, who are the only team outside of the Free State to have secured the title, kicked off their campaign with a 1-1 draw against last year’s runner-up, the Wildeklawer Academy, who took Virginia High to penalties in the title game in 2025.

Grey College made a confident start, beating Vaal High 3-0. It was no simple starter; Vaal High was the runner-up in the Grey Nedbank Soccer Tournament last year, which earned them an invitation to the Absa Wildeklawer Soccer Tournament.

The most surprising result on the opening day was Maritzburg College being trounced 6-1 by Reddam House Bedfordview. While the Red, Black, and White are currently in a rebuilding phase, they have been one of KwaZulu-Natal’s and South Africa’s best sides over the past three seasons. However, they’ve said goodbye to some leading players, and it might take them some time to adjust.

HTS Louis Botha, the Absa Wildeklawer winners in 2022 and 2023, held off Jeppe High School for Boys in their first outing, nabbing a 1-0 victory.

Also in Group C, Navalsig High, fifth in 2025, handed Northwood a 3-1 loss.

RESULTS

Friday, 24 April

Group A

Northern Academy 1-0 Kimberley Boys’ High
Victoria Park 1-0 Norkem Park

Group B

Virginia High 5-0 Queen’s College
Clapham High 1-1 Wildeklawer Academy

Group C

HTS Louis Botha 1-0 Jeppe
Navalsig High 3-1 Northwood

Group D

Grey College 3-0 Vaal High
Reddam House Bedfordview 6-1 Maritzburg College

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Siya Pongco

A passionate reader and dedicated writer, Siya possesses three degrees from Rhodes University including a Postgraduate Diploma at Rhodes University. He also played amateur cricket and soccer, both during his university years. While honing his journalism skills at Grocott’s Mail in Makhanda, he developed a profound interest in the community’s response to crime. Additionally, he covered topics such as art/culture and student politics at Rhodes University in 2022. In his spare time, Siya can be found exploring galleries, dining at restaurants, indulging in literature, taking photographs or savouring his favourite dish, spaghetti.

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