Former Premier Soccer League (PSL) clubs Baroka FC, Black Leopards, Cape Town City and the University of Pretoria are finding life tough in the Motsepe Foundation Championship, as all four teams continue to struggle for consistency and positive results in the second tier of SA football.
Both Black Leopards and Cape Town City are languishing at the bottom of the National First Division (NFD) table, sitting 16th and 15th respectively, without a single win after their opening matches.
Leopards’ campaign has been severely affected by Fifa’s player registration restrictions, a problem they inherited from All Stars FC – the club whose status they purchased.
The ban has limited their ability to strengthen the squad, leaving their coach and management with a tough task of building a competitive team under challenging circumstances.
The good news for Lidoda Duvha is that the Venda-based side can finally strengthen its squad after Fifa lifted its transfer ban, allowing it to register new
players for the 2025/26 season.
Cape Town City’s struggles have been compounded by the departure of several key players who left after the team dropped to the lower division.
The nine players who departed are Thabo Nodada, Thamsanqa Mkhize, Darwin González, Darren Keet,Lorenzo Gordinho, Fortune Makaringe, Haashim Domingo, Elson Sithole and
Kamohelo Mokotjo.
Meanwhile, Baroka FC, under the mentorship of Dan “Dance” Malesela, are sitting in 12th position with four points from six matches, having recorded one win, one draw and four losses.
The University of Pretoria are placed 11th with six points after drawing all six of their matches – making them the only side yet to taste defeat this season.
The 10-day Fifa calendar break has given the former PSL campaigners breathing space to recharge and also to fine-tune their players. They will be back in action on Friday.
