Varsity Football (South Africa)

Varsity Football is a South African university football competition. It is one of seven sports in the Varsity Sports series. The annual tournament involves the top football playing universities in the country, which belong to the University Sports Company. The tournament is run by Varsity Sports South Africa, and is endorsed by the South African Football Association and University Sport South Africa. All matches are televised live on SuperSport, elevating the visibility of the competition and serving as a vital development platform for student-athletes, many of whom transition to the professional Hollywoodbets Super League (Women) or the South African Premiership (Men).

History The Varsity Cup tournament was founded in 2008, featuring the rugby teams of eight universities. Varsity Sports was expanded in 2012 to include other sporting codes. University Sport South Africa discussed the Varsity Football proposal at its 2012 annual general meeting. The idea was initially rejected, as it was seen to split the member institutions. However, it was later accepted, and 2013 was the inaugural season of Varsity Football, with an 8 team men's tournament. A four-team women's tournament was also played. Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) women's won six (6) times while Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) men's won four (times) and current champions for 2025 is University of Western Cape both (Women) and the University of the Free State (Men)

Participating teams As of 2025, 8 different teams have competed in the men's Varsity Football tournament: Team Name University Stadium UJ Men's Football University of Johannesburg UJ Stadium NWU Men's Football North-West University Mafikeng Sports Fields UFS Men's Football University of the Free State Shimla Park TUT Men's Football Tshwane University of Technology TUT Stadium UP-Tuks Men's Football University of Pretoria Tuks Stadium Wits Men's Football University of the Witwatersrand Bidvest Stadium CUT Men's Football Central University of Technology CUT Stadium DUT Men's Football Durban University of Technology Harry Gwala Stadium

Varsity Football Women's Teams Eight different teams have competed in the women's Varsity Football tournament as of 2025: Team Name University UJ Women's Football University of Johannesburg UP-Tuks Women's Football University of Pretoria UWC Women's Football University of the Western Cape Wits Women's Football University of the Witwatersrand TUT Women's Football Tshwane University of Technology CPUT Women's Football Cape Peninsula University of Technology NWU Women's Football North-West University UNIVEN Women's Football University of Venda

Qualification For both the men's and women's tournaments, qualification is based on the previous season's University Sports South Africa Football National Club Championships, held annually in December. In order to qualify, men's teams need to be one of the eight highest placed teams associated with Varsity Sports. Women's teams needed to be one of the semi-finalists, and also be associated with Varsity Sports.

Teams not associated with the University Sports Company are not eligible for the competition. UKZN Pietermaritzburg for example, a losing semi-finalist at the 2012 men's University Sports South Africa Football National Club Championships, were ineligible, not being linked to Varsity Sports. The next highest placed teams at the University Sports South Africa Football National Club Championships, that are associated with Varsity Sports, will take the places of the ineligible teams.

Format The tournament begins with a round robin stage, in which all teams play each other once. After the round robin stage, the top 4 teams advance to the knockout stage. The teams ranked 1 and 2 host the semi-finals, against the teams ranked 4 and 3 respectively. The winners advance to the final, to be hosted by the highest ranked finalist. The league scoring system follows a standard scoring system and awards 3 points for a win, and 1 point for a draw. Teams are separated first on points, and then on goal difference.

The Varsity Football Women's tournament features 8 top university teams, qualifying primarily through the previous year's USSA National Club Championships. The competition is typically shorter and more condensed than the men's event, often held over two weeks or at a single venue. The format involves an initial Group Stage, where teams are split into two pools and play a round-robin format. The top two teams from each group then advance to the knockout Semi-Finals, with the winners proceeding to the final match to be crowned the tournament champion.

All matches are played on Monday evenings.

Varsity Football Men's Winners

Year Winner 2013 UP-Tuks 2014 UP-Tuks 2015 UWC 2016 TUT 2017 UP-Tuks 2018 TUT 2019 NWU 2020 Suspended due to COVID-19 2021 UJ 2022 TUT 2023 TUT 2024 UWC 2025 UFS 2026 TUT

University Titles won TUT 5 UP-Tuks 3 UWC 2 UJ 1 NWU 1 UFS 1

Varsity Football Women's Winners

Year Winner 2013 UJ 2014 TUT 2015 TUT 2016 TUT 2017 TUT 2018 TUT 2019 TUT 2020 Suspended due to COVID-19 2021 UWC 2022 UJ 2023 UWC 2024 UWC 2025 UWC

University Titles won TUT 6 UWC 4 UJ 2

Notable players Players who have since represented Bafana Bafana.

Thabo Mnyamane NWU-Mafikeng

Varsity Football (South Africa)

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