The 2013 Varsity Football challenge was the first season of a South African university
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
competition. It involved some of the top football playing universities in the country, which belong to the University Sports Company. The tournament is run by Varsity Sports South Africa, and is endorsed by the
South African Football Association and University Sport South Africa.
The men's competition was won by
UP-Tuks and the women's competition by
University of Johannesburg
The University of Johannesburg (UJ) is a public university located in Johannesburg, South Africa. The University of Johannesburg came into existence on 1 January 2005 as the result of a merger between the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), the ...
.
History
The
Varsity Cup
Varsity Cup is the collective name for four South African rugby union competitions involving the top rugby playing universities in the country. It was launched in 2008, with eight teams participating in the Varsity Cup competition and each univers ...
tournament was founded in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, featuring the rugby teams of eight universities. Varsity Sports was expanded in 2012 to include other sporting codes. University Sport South Africa discussed the Varsity Football proposal at its 2012 annual general meeting. The idea was initially rejected, as it was seen to split the member institutions. However, it was later accepted, and 2013 was the inaugural season of Varsity Football, with an 8 team men's tournament. A four team women's tournament is also being played.
Participating Teams
The eight teams competing in the men's Varsity Football challenge are:
The four teams competing in the women's Varsity Football challenge are:
Qualification
For both the men's and women's tournaments, qualification was based on the 2012 University Sports South Africa National Club Championships. In order to qualify, men's teams need to be one of the eight highest placed teams associated with
Varsity Sports
In most English-speaking countries, varsity is an abbreviation of the word ''university''. In the United States and Canada, the term is mostly used in relation to sports teams.
Varsity in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, varsity team ...
. Women's teams needed to be one of the semi-finalists, and also be associated with Varsity Sports.
For the men's tournament,
UP-Tuks qualified as USSA champions, and
NWU-Mafikeng as losing finalists.
TUT-Pretoria qualified as a losing semi-finalist, while
UKZN Pietermaritzburg, also a losing semi-finalist, was ineligible, not being linked to Varsity Sports.
Wits and
UWC qualified as losing quarter finalists, while
WSU-Potsdam and
CPUT, both of which also lost in the quarter finals were ineligible.
UCT
The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university stat ...
, ranked 9th,
UFS, ranked 11th and
NMMU
Nelson Mandela University (formerly known as ''Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU)'' ) and before that - the University of Port Elizabeth (UPE), the Port Elizabeth Technikon and Vista University's Port Elizabeth campus. This South Af ...
, ranked 14th were invited. Higher placed
University of Venda
The University of Venda (Univen; ve, Yunivesithi ya Venḓa, af, Universiteit van Venda) is a South African comprehensive rural-based institution, located in Thohoyandou in Limpopo province. It was established in 1982 under the then Republi ...
,
WSU-Ibika and
UKZN-Edgewood were not invited, as they are not linked to Varsity Sports.
For the women's tournament,
TUT-Pretoria was invited as the USSA women's champion.
UP-Tuks qualified as the losing finalist, and
UJ as a losing semi-finalist.
VUT, a losing semi-finalist, was not invited, lacking affiliation with Varsity Sports at the time. As such, 5th ranked
University of Limpopo
The University of Limpopo is a university in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2005, by the merger of the University of the North and the Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA). These previous institutions form ...
was invited instead.
Standings
Format
The tournament begins with a round robin stage, in which all teams play each other once. After the round robin stage, the top 4 teams will advance to the knockout stage. The teams ranked 1 and 2 will host the semi-finals, against the teams ranked 4 and 3 respectively. The winners will advance to the final, to be hosted by the highest ranking finalist. All matches are played on Mondays. The league scoring system follows a
standard scoring system and awards 3 points are awarded for a win, and 1 point for a draw. Teams are separated first on points, and then on goal difference.
Round robin stage
The 2013 season began with the round robin stages on 22 July, which will end on 2 September.
* ''All times are South African (GMT+2)''
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
*
1 Matches originally scheduled for
NMMU Stadium
Nelson Mandela University Sports Stadium commonly referred to as Madibaz Stadium, is an athletics stadium in Protea Road, on the South Campus of Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
The stadium hosts Nelson Mandela Univers ...
.
*
2 Kick off delayed due to late arrival of officials.
Knockout stage
The top four placed men's teams progressed to the knockout stage, as did all four women's teams. The semi-finals for both men and women were played on 9 September and the finals on 16 September.
Men's tournament
Semi-finals
Final
Women's tournament
Semi-finals
Final
Notable Players and Coaches
Players and coaches who have since been signed by professional clubs.
*
Thabo Mnyamane (
University of Pretoria
The University of Pretoria ( af, Universiteit van Pretoria, nso, Yunibesithi ya Pretoria) is a multi-campus public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and de facto capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 ...
),
South African Premier Division
The South African Premier Division, officially referred to as the DStv Premiership for sponsorship purposes, is the premier men's professional football/soccer league and the highest division in the league system of South Africa, organized sinc ...
Sponsors
The tournament is sponsored by:
*
Cell C
*
Debonairs Pizza
Debonairs Pizza is a South African based pizza restaurant chain franchise founded in 1991 by Craig MacKenzie and Andrew Harvey. MacKenzie came up with the idea and business model to found the company following a gap-year trip to Los Angeles when ...
*
First National Bank
*
Samsung
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
References
External links
* http://www.varsitysportssa.com/varsity-football
{{Authority control
Football
Soccer competitions in South Africa