Limpopo ABC Motsepe League champions, Mphe Home Defenders.
Limpopo ABC Motsepe League champions, Mpheni Defenders FC, have been drawn in the same group as Njampela FC from KwaZulu-Natal and FN Rangers of Western Cape, who are considered favorites to gain promotion to the National First Division.
The national tournament will be hosted in Upington, Northern Cape, from the 17th to the 23rd of this month. The draw was conducted at the SAFA house in Nasrec, Johannesburg, on Tuesday, 4th June.
The games will kick off on Monday, the 18th, with either NC Professionals or Jacksa Spears from the host city Northern Cape facing off against Kruger United from Mpumalanga at 9:00 AM.
The Northern Cape and Eastern Cape provincial playoffs had not yet taken place at the time of publication.
The second game will feature Mangaung United of Free State Province against a team from Eastern Cape, while Mpheni will play the last game of the day against a tough KwaZulu-Natal side, Njampela, who won 12 of their 16 games in their league.
Limpopo champions, who are making a return to the playoffs after missing out on promotion last season, will be expected to use their experience to overcome the tough KwaZulu-Natal side and top their group.
They have retained the core of last season’s team, which lost 3-2 on penalties to Upington City. Some soccer lovers on social media, who criticized the Vembe-based side for poor performance this season, have expressed their doubts regarding their ability to come back with positive results.
However, others believe Mpheni will come back with a smile. One such person is their former assistant coach, Amukelani “JayJay” Hlongwani, now with National First Division side Baroka. “JayJay” believes his home side’s ability to defend their lead is their strong point. He has tipped his former side to gain promotion this season.
Mpheni will play their second and final group stage game on Tuesday, the 19th, against the Western Cape side FN Rangers at noon. Rangers won their league with an unbeaten record this season and also recorded an impressive 12 wins and drew only four of their 16 league games.
The winners of the three groups will be joined by the best runner-up of all the groups for a semifinal spot to be played on Friday, 21st June. The winners of the semifinals will automatically gain promotion to the National First Division. The finals are scheduled to take place on Sunday, 23rd June.