The 2014 Varsity Football challenge is the second season of a South African university association football competition. It involves some of the top football playing universities in the country, which belong to the University Sports Company. The tournament is run by Varsity Sports SA, and is endorsed by the South African Football Association and University Sport South Africa.
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 is also being played.
Participating teams
The eight teams competing in the men's Varsity Football challenge are: Varsity Football ChallengeTeam NameUniversityStadium NMMU MadibazNelson Mandela Metropolitan UniversityNMMU Stadium NWU MafikengNorth-West UniversityMafikeng Sports Fields UCT IkeysUniversity of Cape TownThe Green Mile UFS KovsiesUniversity of the Free StateShimla Park UJUniversity of JohannesburgAW Muller StadiumUJ Soweto Campus Sport Complex LimpopoUniversity of LimpopoOscar Mphetha Stadium1 UP-TuksUniversity of PretoriaTuks Stadium UWCUniversity of the Western CapeUWC Sport Stadium
The four teams competing in the men's Varsity Football challenge are: Varsity Football ChallengeTeam NameUniversityStadium UJUniversity of JohannesburgAW Muller Stadium UP-TuksUniversity of PretoriaTuks Stadium TUTTshwane University of TechnologyTUT Stadium UWCUniversity of the Western CapeUWC Sport Stadium
1 The University of Limpopo was unable to host any matches at Oscar Mphetha Stadium, as the stadium did not meet league standards. As such, the team played all of their matches away.
Qualification Qualification was based on the 2013 University Sports South Africa National Club Championships. In order to qualify, men's teams need to be one of the eight highest placed teams associated with Varsity Sports.
Standings
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 will advance to the knock-out stage. The teams ranked 1 and 2 will host the semi-finals, against the teams ranked 4 and 3 respectively. The winners will advance to the final, to be hosted by the highest ranking finalist. All matches are played on Mondays. The league scoring system follows a standard scoring system and awards 3 points are awarded for a win, and 1 point for a draw. Teams are separated first on points, and then on goal difference.
Round robin stage The 2014 season began with the round robin stages on 21 July, which will end on 1 September. All times are South African (GMT+2)
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Knockout stage The top four placed men's teams progressed to the knockout stage, as did all four women's teams. The semi-finals for both men and women were played on 8 September and the finals on 15 September.
Men's tournament
Semi-finals
Final
Women's tournament
Semi-finals
Final
Notable players and coaches Players and coaches who have since been signed by professional clubs.
Sponsors
The tournament is sponsored by: Cell C Debonairs Pizza First National Bank Samsung
References
External links https://www.varsitysportssa.com/varsity-football