Weekend Football Lineup: GDL, GWDL and GDPL finals at Balfour Park
The opening rounds of the Gauteng Development League (GDL) and the Gauteng Women’s Development League (GWDL) are approaching rapidly. Before they kick off, though, the finals of the Top 8 competitions in each league will be played this coming weekend at Balfour Park.
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Gauteng Development League Top Competition
Last Sunday, with a full house at Balfour Park, Highlands Park hosted the semifinals for both the GDL and GWDL.
Now, on Saturday, it’s Kaizer Chiefs against Remember Elite Sport Academy (RESA) at Balfour Park for the GDL title, and Chiefs beat their great rivals, Mamelodi Sundowns, and RESA downed Highlands Park.
RESA advanced to the title game after securing a 4-3 victory over the Lions of the North from the penalty spot after their clash had ended 1-1 in regulation time. Kabelo Mofokeng opened the scoring in the first half to put the Vereeniging-based club in the lead. Lethlonolo Masenya equalised for Highlands Park in the second stanza.
Waiting to find out who they would face in the final, RESA and the other Top 8 clubs watched the day’s most anticipated clash between the Phefeni Glamour Boys and the Brazilians.
The match met expectations, with Inga Simama netting the opening goal for Sundowns in the first half. In the second half, Gift Phoku brought Kaizer Chiefs back on level terms.
Chiefs, then, edged ahead through Malibongwe Mtshali, but Sundowns battled back and levelled the scores through Junior Moseou. At the final whistle, it was 2-2, and the contest would be decided from the penalty spot.
Goalkeeper Keabetswe Morake then stole the spotlight, denying Sundowns on a couple of occasions to help Kaizer Chiefs eliminate their Chorkloop-based opponents by a 3-2 margin
In the u17 GDL semifinals, Siwelele (formerly SuperSport United) defeated the University of Pretoria (Tuks) 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw during regulation time. They’ll face Kaizer Chiefs in the final after the Amakhosi edged out Sundowns 1-0.
While Sundowns’ hopes were ended in the semi-finals of both the u17 and u19 competitions, they will play for the title in the u15 age group. The Brazilians u15s also got one over Chiefs, with Bafana Ba Style winning 2-0 to book their place in the title game.
They’ll take on Siwelele for the title after Siwelele beat the Africa School of Excellence, previously known as the Transnet School of Excellence, 5-4 on penalties after their match concluded in a tense 2-2 draw during regulation time.
The u14 division was every bit as thrilling as the other age groups. The semi-final showdown between Kaizer Chiefs and Kathorus Hyper Academy was a nail-biter. They shared a 1-1 draw in regulation time before an extended penalty shootout finished 6-5 in favour of Chiefs.
Highlands Park advanced to the final with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Siwelele.
In the u13 GDL top 8 semi-finals, Sundowns moved on to the title decider on the back of a 2-0 victory over Joburg City, while Siwelele handed Highlands Park a 3-0 defeat.
Gauteng Women’s Development League Top Competition
The GWDL Top 8 made a comeback, with the event first being held in 2024, but not last year. The winners of the only previous edition of the tournament were Mamelodi Sundowns. This year, the GWDL top 8 included u13, u15, and u17 categories.
In the u17 division, where Sundowns has been a dominant force in the league, the Banyana Ba Style powered their way into the final with a one-sided 7-0 victory over Edenvale.
They’ll face Refilwe for the title. Both finalists represented South Africa and the GWDL at the u17 Confederation of African Football (Caf) Girls Integrated Football Tournament (GIFT) in Zimbabwe last December, where Sundowns claimed the title. Refilwe’s performance at the tournament was less than stellar, but they’ll have an opportunity to show that they belong at the head of the table when they face the 2025 GWDL league champions.
The u15 GWDL final will feature Panorama going head-to-head with Tuks at Balfour Park. Both moved smoothly into the title match, with Tuks outplaying Edenvale 5-0, while Panorama bagged a 3-0 win against JVW.
In the u13 GWDL top 8, Mamelodi Sundowns cruised past Edenvale, winning 5-0, while the contest between Refilwe and JVW went to a penalty shootout after their tie finished at 1-1. Refilwe, then, triumphed 3-1 from the spot.
RESULTS
Sunday, 22 February
Gauteng Development League Competition
u19 GDL Top 8 Semifinals
Kaizer Chiefs (3) 2-2 (1) Mamelodi Sundowns
RESA (4) 1-1 (3) Highlands Park
u17 GDL Top 8 Semifinals
Siwelele (4) 2-2 (2) Tuks
Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 Mamelodi Sundowns
u15 GDL Top 8 Semifinals
Mamelodi Sundowns 2-0 Kaizer Chiefs
Siwelele (5) 2-2 (4) School of Excellence
u14 GDL Top Semifinals
Kaizer Chiefs (6) 1-1 (5) Kathorus Hyper Academy
Highlands Park 2-1 Siwelele
u13 GDL Top 8 Semifinals
Mamelodi Sundowns 2-0 Joburg City
Siwelele 3-0 Highlands Park
Gauteng Women’s Development League Top 8 Competition
u13 GWDL Top Semifinals
Mamelodi Sundowns 5-0 Edenvale
Refilwe (3) 1-1 (1) JVW
u15 GWDL Top 8 Semifinals
Tuks 5-0 Edenvale
Panorama 3-0 JVW
u17 GWDL Top 8 Semifinals
Refilwe 5-2 JVW
Mamelodi Sundowns 7-0 Edenvale
FIXTURES
Saturday, 28 February
Gauteng Development League Competition
Venue: Balfour Park
u13 Final
09:00 – Mamelodi Sundowns vs Siwelele
u14 Final
10:00 – Kaizer Chiefs vs Highlands Park
u15 Final
13:15 – Mamelodi Sundowns vs Siwelele
u17 Final
09:00 – Kaizer Chiefs vs Siwelele
u19 Final
13:00 – Kaizer Chiefs vs RESA
Gauteng Women’s Development Competition
Venue: Balfour Park
u13 Final
10:30 – Mamelodi Sundowns vs Refilwe
u15 Final
11:30 – Tuks vs Panorama
u17 Final
11:00 – Mamelodi Sundowns vs Refilwe
GDL Promotional League Top 8 Competition
u13 Final
09:00 – Pretoria Athletic vs Future of Africa
u14 Final
11:30 – Future of Africa vs Rosina Sedibane
u15 Final
13:15 – Rosina Sedibane vs Future of Africa
u17 Final
Prestige Football Academy vs Hammanskraal Academy
u19 Final
Prestige Football Academy vs Future of Africa
