Germiston Stadium was buzzing with sporting action last weekend as the Mzanzi College Challenge hosted the College Sports, Arts and Culture South Africa (CoSACSA) League games.

The tournament featured girls’ and boys’ rugby at the stadium, with teams from eight TVET colleges across Gauteng competing.

The organisation hosts and manages the league on behalf of CoSACSA, its leading partner.

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Speaking to Germiston City News, Mzanzi College Challenge founder and CEO Obed Maoka said the tournament will continue to expand, with additional sporting codes planned for next year.

This year’s programme includes rugby, soccer and volleyball for both boys and girls, to name a few.

Maoka explained that when the organisation was established in 2019, it focused solely on boys’ soccer before broadening its offering.

“We were unable to host competitions in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We resumed in 2022 with soccer, netball and basketball. This season, we introduced rugby while continuing our traditional soccer tournament featuring the eight public TVET colleges,” he said.

Looking ahead, Maoka said private colleges will have their own leagues from next year.

“The winners of the private college league and the public college league will compete to determine the overall champions,” he said.

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Maoka added that interest in girls’ rugby is steadily growing and the standard of play continues to improve.

“We want to see rugby grow and produce players who can represent Gauteng and South Africa. Our goal is to establish provincial teams across all the sports we offer and see them compete on a national level, and perhaps be scouted overseas,” he said.

Maoka is studying at ETA College, where he is upgrading his sports management diploma, which he previously obtained from IIE Rosebank College, now rebranded as Rosebank International.

The CoSACSA League returns to Germiston Stadium on August 23 for the final round of league matches. Entry is free, and members of the public are encouraged to attend and support the student athletes.