BLOEMFONTEIN – The 2025-’26 season will go down in the history of Marumo Gallants as the greatest escape from potential relegation in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) – on two fronts: on the playing field and in the boardroom. The club escaped potential relegation on the pitch when they drew 0-0 with Stellenbosch FC in their final Premiership league fixture, played at the Dr R.P. Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein last Saturday. The result saw them finish in 14th position with 25 points – one point clear of the promotion/relegation playoffs. It was a massive sigh of relief for club chairman Dr Abam Sello and his troops, as the result guaranteed their place in South Africa’s elite football ranks next season.

The Gallants were embroiled in a tense do-or-die four-way battle to avoid relegation alongside Chippa United, Orbit College and Magesi FC. Sello’s team’s fate heading into the final matchday against Stellenbosch depended on the results of matches involving their relegation rivals in addition to the outcome of the encounter against Stellenbosch. As fate would have it, Chippa beat Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 while Orbit lost 2-0 to Orlando Pirates, with Magesi beating Richards Bay 1-0 to book a slot in the PSL promotion/relegation playoffs. Pirates’ win proved absolutely crucial to Gallants’ remarkable survival, ensuring Orbit’s automatic relegation. A draw or a win for Orbit would have compounded Gallants’ relegation woes, given their hard-fought goalless stalemate against Stellenbosch.

However, survival on the pitch was only half the battle. The club’s first brush with relegation had come through the boardroom when the PSL launched disciplinary proceedings over the improper registration of midfielder Monde Mphambaniso. This came after Cape Town City accused Gallants of fielding Mphambaniso improperly, alleging he lacked a proper clearance certificate when the club transitioned divisions. The PSL initially declined to prosecute, but the Western Cape side successfully took the matter to the South African Football Association (Safa) arbitration, and the arbitrator ruled in favour of City, compelling the PSL Disciplinary Committee (DC) to investigate. The PSL DC found Gallants guilty of improper registration.

Crucially, the PSL explicitly decided against deducting league points for the 26 matches in which Mphambaniso featured during the 2024-’25 campaign. This decision proved seismic in its consequences – not just for Gallants, but for Cape Town City. The PSL Disciplinary Committee, led by prosecutor Zola Majavu, sanctioned the Sello-owned club with a R200,000 fine. In a show of leniency, the committee chose to suspend 50% of the financial penalty for a period of 24 months, holding the club accountable without inflicting extreme financial distress. Utterly aggrieved with just a fine, City appealed to have Gallants docked points. Ultimately, a Safa arbitrator dismissed this final appeal, ensuring Gallants remained in the PSL and denying City’s bid for reinstatement. City had finished at the bottom of the log and had lodged the initial complaint, hoping a massive points deduction against Gallants would hand them a lifeline to remain in South Africa’s top-flight football. The Sello-owned team had finished in ninth place in the 2024-’25 season.

The just-ended 2025-’26 Premiership was a season that tested Gallants’ resolve at every level – tactically, administratively, and emotionally. Having navigated both a legal minefield and a desperate fight for survival on the pitch, they emerged intact. Few clubs in PSL history can claim a more dramatic double escape than Gallants’ remarkable 2025-’26 campaign. The Gallants’ high point of the just-ended season was reaching the Carling Knockout Cup final, where they narrowly lost 1-0 in extra time to eventual winners Orlando Pirates on 6 December at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. The Bahlabane ba Ntwa settled for a silver medal and the runner-up prize money under French-born head coach Alexander Lafitte, who was subsequently fired following the club’s poor run in the league. Despite missing out on the ultimate prize, their spirited and historic run to the final served as the defining peak of an intense, roller-coaster 2025-’26 top-flight football season in the Betway Premiership. This will stand out as one season that Gallants and their faithful supporters will never forget. The club thanked local supporters by offering free entry for the final-day clash against Stellenbosch last Saturday.