Varsity football returns for 7th season
Current champions TUT (Tshwane University of Technology) take on NWU (North-West University) this Thursday.
The 2019 Varsity Football season kicks off this Thursday when current champions Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) takes on North-West University (NWU).
The opener will be followed by home-side University of Pretoria (Tuks) taking on Jozi giants University of Johannesburg (UJ).
This season, Varsity Football will feature at the Bloemfontein Derby for the first time.
Both Central University of Technology (CUT) and University of the Free State (UFS) qualifies for Varsity Men’s and Women’s Football competitions.
A new innovation Varsity Football is undertaking this season is the Northern Double-Header, which will take place on 8 August. Four teams will compete at the Tuks stadium, treating the crowd to two Varsity Football fixtures.
Varsity Football Manager Xhanti-Lomzi Nesi believes Double-Headers like this are the future of sportainment (sport entertainment)..
“When it comes to our in-crowd target market of students between the ages of 18-25, we have seen the data and know they want a bigger event and more entertainment for their buck,” said Nesi.
ALSO READ: TUT hunt for second Varsity Football title
“This kind of Double-Header is what the future of live sports entertainment is. And with UP-Tuks and TUT being such well-supported teams in our competition, it made perfect sense to have the first of this initiative in Pretoria at the Tuks Stadium.”
“The Double-Header takes place on a Thursday evening, our usual Varsity Football night, with the next day being Women’s Day, which means the crowd can back their team, have a great night and not worry about lectures the next day. We are really excited about this and think our spectators will be too.”
It is also another exciting year for Varsity Women’s Football.
Banyana Banyana made the nation proud after competing at their first-ever Women’s Football World Cup, comprising seven Varsity Women’s Football alumni, including Bongeka Gamede (the reigning Player of the Tournament), Leandra Smeda and Thembi Kgatlana.
National coach Desiree Ellis believes Varsity Women’s Football plays an important part in the academics of footballers, as well as, providing a platform for players to grow in the sport.
“It (Varsity Women’s Football) goes hand-in-hand and also gives an opportunity to football players to get an education,” said Ellis.
“When I played in the national team 90% of players were unemployed but now about 90% or more have degrees and are currently studying. It is always exciting to see young girls play and it gives us hope for the future of women’s football.”
Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.
For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites:
For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram
