World Cup football fever continues at UJ

The second edition of the nine-week tournament which starts on 21 July, will see the top eight footballing universities do battle on grounds across the country.

UJ will host three home games on 28 July, 18 August and 1 September . The first and last of these will be played at the AW Muller Stadium on the Auckland Park Bunting Road campus, while the second match will be televised live from the Soweto Campus sports complex.

According to UJ’s sports marketing co-ordinator, Tanya Naude football plays a critical role in uniting the institution’s diverse student population.

“We’re particularly excited to see the football culture unwrapping among the students as the tournament draws closer,” she said.

The UJ women’s team featuring Banyana stars such as Amanda Dlamini, Noko Matlou and Disebo Mametja won last year’s inaugural tournament, while the men’s side are currently ranked seventh overall after qualifying at the University Sport South Africa (Ussa) championships last year.

UJ sports events manager Niamh Faherty said the university also hosted the Ussa tournament, which acts as the qualifying event for Varsity Football.

“That was a week long and there were approximately 800 players, so this one is much more intimate, which gives us the opportunity to focus on the ‘wow’ factor.”

Although there are no road closures during the event, Faherty advised spectators to park on the Kingsway campus due to limited parking facilities and catch the university bus service to the Bunting Road stadium.

The participating men’s teams are: UJ, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, the University of Pretoria, University of Limpopo, North West University (Mafikeng), University of the Western Cape, University of the Free State and the University of Cape Town.

Details: www.varsitysportssa.com