Two years after suffering relegation from the Johannesburg Women’s Regional League, Super Midrand Ladies Academy have earned another chance to prove they belong among the city’s top women’s football clubs.

The Ivory Park-based club will compete in the regional league for the second time after winning the Midrand Women’s Local Football Association (LFA) title in 2025.

Their latest promotion follows a determined comeback after being relegated during their first spell in the regional league.

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Super Midrand Ladies first secured promotion after dominating the 2022 Midrand Women’s LFA season, finishing top of the standings with 33 points.

However, their maiden regional league campaign in 2023 proved challenging, with the team ending at the bottom of the table and returning to the local league.

Rather than giving up, the club rebuilt and reclaimed the Midrand Women’s LFA title last season, earning another opportunity to compete among Johannesburg’s top women’s amateur football clubs.

Club chairperson Katlego Masia said the academy, established in 2019 in Ivory Park Ext 2, has become a platform for developing young footballers while keeping children away from crime and other social ills, but now, the academy’s financial constraints and a lack of equipment could make the difference between survival and success.

“I am appealing to residents, organisations, and businesses in Midrand to support our club..”

Masia said the club is urgently seeking donations of footballs, playing kits, training equipment, bibs, cones, goal nets, and financial assistance to help cover transport costs for upcoming competitions.

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“On September 27, we will be travelling to Mpumalanga to compete, so we need support with transport as well as equipment. Last year, our ladies won the Midrand LFA Women’s League, and this season we are back in the regional league.

Our U17 boys also performed well, while our U9 and U19 teams will be competing this year.” The academy caters to boys from U9 to U19, as well as a senior women’s team.

Masia believes greater investment in grassroots football could help talented local players progress to higher levels of the game.

“Many clubs only attract sponsors once they reach the ABC Motsepe League or the Sasol Women’s League [Women’s Provincial League].

In Ivory Park and Rabie Ridge, we don’t have many teams competing at those levels. With sponsorship and donations, our players can focus on their football, instead of worrying about finances.”

Masia, who began playing football at the age of six in Ga-Mashashane, Limpopo, said he founded the academy to give children a positive alternative to life on the streets.

“Football and education go hand in hand. We encourage our players to stay in school while pursuing their dreams on the field. If we can get training kits, equipment, nets, and other resources, it will help us grow the club and create more opportunities for young people in our community.”

Potential donors can contact Katlego Masia on 063 745 2996.

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