The Nedbank Cup will extend its 55-year history as South africa’s most prestigious knockout competition, writes Nick Said.
Kaizer Chiefs ended their 10-year wait for a trophy when they claimed the 2025 Nedbank Cup title, a victory made sweeter by the fact they defeated Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates in the final.
The competition is regarded as South Africa’s FA Cup, where amateur teams mix with professionals, and there have been plenty of upsets down the years, giving it a special aura that the other domestic knockout competitions battle to match.
The history of the competition, the oldest of South Africa’s current domestic cups and now in its 55th year, is littered with David vs Goliath moments in which teams from the amateur ranks have stunned so-called elite clubs.
It is a competition that brings prestige and for the teams from the lower leagues, exposure on a national scale to showcase the talent within their squads.
The field for the first round is made up of 32 clubs, half of which gain automatic entry as members of the Betway Premiership, the top division in South African football.
There are eight teams from the Motsepe Foundation Championship (MFC) and a further eight from the league structures administered by the South African Football Association (SAFA) – either the ABC Motsepe League (third-tier) or the SAB Regional League (fourth-tier).
The latter especially is considered grassroots football but even in the ABC Motsepe League the vast majority of the players carry the ‘amateur’ tag, and dream of making it as a professional one day.
The Nedbank Cup affords them this opportunity to rub shoulders with professionals and perhaps catch their eye.
The quick elevation into the Premiership has happened on countless occasions before.
The eight sides from the NFD are determined by a preliminary round that traditionally takes place in December.
It pits the 16 teams from the second tier against one-another in a single leg knockout game with the winners advancing to the Nedbank Cup Last 32.
The teams from the SAFA structures that are competing in the Last 32 have had a much longer road to the first round.
They can play up to nine matches in the preliminary stages over three months as they compete against teams from around their province to earn the right to be the top club from their region in the Nedbank Cup.
But as South Africa has nine provinces and there are only eight places available for Nedbank Cup teams, it means that one province loses out each year.
Once the competition proper gets under way the tournament is played in a straight knockout format with no seeded draws.
