The Gomora and Bees football clubs will become familiar names in the Motsepe Foundation Championship in the forthcoming 2025/26 season, following their promotion to the country’s National First Division league.
Both Gomora and Bees, who participated in the contentious ABC Motsepe League final on Sunday, will take the places of Durban City and Orbit FC who have both been promoted to the Betway Premiership.
The match was played at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville, Pretoria.
Leruma United was relegated from the First Division to the ABC league.
Gomora, who hail from Alexandra, triumphed over Bees, representing Mpumalanga, with a 2-1 score-line. The win makes Gomora overall champions of the ABC Motsepe League.
No smooth-sailing
The playoffs were fraught with controversy, particularly after their relocation from Tsakane township in Ekurhuleni to Soshanguve and Atteridgeville, near Pretoria. The South African Football Association justified their decision to alter the venue due to the unplayable conditions in Tsakane.
Just prior to the commencement of the matches, representatives from Limpopo and the Eastern Cape were expelled from the playoffs due to an ongoing arbitration process that threatened the integrity of the games. To compound the situation, SAFA was compelled to cancel the match involving Bees and Zizwe United at the Giant Stadium in Soshanguve, citing issues related to inadequate water supply affecting certain areas.
The match was subsequently rescheduled to take place at Lucas Moripe Stadium the following day.
On Saturday, following a virtual arbitration hearing held on Friday, the arbitrator mandated that the ABC Motsepe National playoff match between Zizwe United and Midlands Wanderers must be replayed. This match was pivotal in determining which club would face the Bees in the semifinal.
Ultimately, it was the Bees and Gomora that advanced to the final.
It remains to be seen how these two sides will navigate the pressures that accompany the vibrant atmosphere of football in the country’s first division league.
