The Sasol Women's League is the second-tier South African Women's association football league, sponsored by Sasol since 2013.[1] It is semi-professional,[2] and operates as a provincial league, with two "streams" of 8-10 teams in each of South Africa's nine provinces (in some cases, multiple streams per province), and each province's champion then competing in a single-location National Championship tournament.[3] The championships two finalists are then promoted to the (professional, first-tier) SAFA Women's League, while the bottom two teams in each province's standings are relegated to the SAFA Women's Regional League of their respective province.[4]
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Organising body | SAFA |
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Founded | 18 September 2009 |
Country | ![]() |
Divisions | 18 |
Number of teams | 144 |
Level on pyramid | 2 |
Promotion to | SAFA Women's League |
Relegation to | SAFA Women's Regional League |
Current champions | University of Fort Hare (2023) |
Most championships | Palace Super Falcons (3 titles) |
TV partners | SABC |
Current: 2023 Sasol Women's League |
History
editThe Sasol Women's League was originally launched in 2009 as the Absa Women's League, in partnership with Absa Bank,[5][6] in order to improve the South African women's national team's international performances.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13]
Annual Champions
editAs recorded by the league sponsor,[14] since its founding 9 different teams from 5 provinces have won the Sasol Women's League:
Season | Winner | Province |
---|---|---|
2009 | Detroit Ladies | Mpumalanga |
2010 | Palace Super Falcons | Gauteng |
2011 | ||
2012 | ||
2013 | Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies | |
2014 | Cape Town Roses | Western Cape |
2015 | Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies | Gauteng |
2016 | Bloemfontein Celtics Ladies | Free State |
2017 | ||
2018 | Tshwane University of Technology | Gauteng |
2019 | JVW | |
2020 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 | |
2021 | Vasco da Gama | Western Cape |
2022 | Copperbelt Ladies | Limpopo |
2023 | University of Fort Hare | Eastern Cape |
References
edit- ^ "SAFA Sasol Women's League - SAFA.net". South African Football Association. 26 March 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "ABOUT THE SASOL LEAGUE". Sasol in Sport. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "Sasol and SAFA launch the 2023 Sasol League National Championship". South African Football Association. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "Sasol League Regulations" (PDF). South African Football Association. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "Absa Women's League launched". SuperSport official website. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "Women's football league kicks off - Brand South Africa". Brandsouthafrica.com. 20 February 2009. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "Absa launch Women's League". Kickoff.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "Competition and Player Development : A comparison between South America and Germany" (PDF). Cies.ch. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ Cynthia Fabrizio Pelak. "Women and gender in South African soccer: a brief history" (PDF). History.msu.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ Shehu, Jimoh (18 November 2017). Gender, Sport and Development in Africa: Cross-cultural Perspectives on Patterns of Representations and Marginalization. African Books Collective. ISBN 9782869783065. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Google Books.
- ^ Cornelissen, Scarlett; Grundlingh, Albert (13 September 2013). Sport Past and Present in South Africa: (Trans)forming the Nation. Routledge. ISBN 9781317988588. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Google Books.
- ^ Alegi, Peter (14 February 2010). African Soccerscapes: How a Continent Changed the World's Game. Ohio University Press. ISBN 9780896804722. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Safa planning to launch a national women's league". Goal.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "About the Sasol League". Sasol in Sport. Retrieved 11 October 2023.