BLOEMFONTEIN. The University of the Free State’s (UFS) women’s netball and men’s football teams made history in the Varsity tournament. Both teams secured berths in the finals of the premier competition. This achievement brings them a step closer to lifting the cup as respective champions of Varsity Netball and Varsity Football. Last year, the Kovsies sport achieved a similar feat. The women’s netball and the men’s rugby team, known as the Shimlas, also claimed the Varsity Rugby and Varsity Netball championships.
The finals were also played at home in Bloemfontein. History will repeat itself should the Kovsies sports teams win this year’s edition of South Africa’s premier university competition. The netball final is scheduled for Monday, 29 September, in the Callie Human Hall. Meanwhile, the men’s football final will be on Thursday, 2 October, at Shimla Park.
The UFS’ netball side achieved the historic milestone of reaching their sixth final. They were guided by respected South African and internationally renowned coach, Burta de Kock. The team has won five titles under this illustrious mentor. De Kock inspired her girls to the remarkable feat of winning five titles in 2013, 2014, 2018, 2021, and 2024. Her team is the most successful of all the participating university teams.
The Kovsie netball side will face the Eagles of the North-West University (NWU) in a pulsating final on Monday. The NWU defeated the University of Johannesburg (UJ) with a 55 − 28 victory. The De Kock-led reigning champions outclassed the Maties of the Stellenbosch University in a 46 − 35 bout. Their semifinal encounter was played on Monday in the Callie Human Hall.
The men’s football outfit progressed to the final for the first time. Their newly-appointed head coach, Mokete Tsotetsi, aspires to lead the team to win their maiden Varsity Football title. They advanced after holding their nerve in a dramatic penalty shoot-out, edging the NWU in a 4 – 3 win. The UFS lads are searching for their maiden title. They will face the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) in the final. The TUT has won four times, claiming the titles in 2023, 2022, 2018, and 2016.
Jerry Laka, UFS sports director at UFS, has applauded both teams for reaching the finals of the tournament.
“It is wonderful to have two teams in the final again – men’s football and women’s netball teams. It is a great experience for the university students and the community of Bloemfontein to host two finals. We are hopeful that both teams will win. For the men’s football team, this is very special considering the team has never reached a final, despite their success in reaching the semi-finals in recent years,” said Laka.
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