South Africa Champions (original) (raw)

The first match on African soil reportedly took place on 23 August 1862 in Cape Town between soldiers and employees of the colonial administration.

Provincial Champions and Cup Winners
National Champions (since 1959)

Provincial Champions and Cup Winners

Note that Oranje Vrĳstaat (Orange Free State) and Transvaal were independent entities until the end of the Boer Wars in 1902. For most provinces no data after 1900 are available below (with the notable exception of Transvaal).

Note that provincial selections competed for the Currie Cup.

Western Province

The Western Province FA was formed in 1891, based at Green Point Track, later to switch headquarters to Hartleyvale Stadium and they set up league and cup competitions, the latter known as the O'Reilly Cup.

            Senior League                   O'Reilly Cup

1891 Royal Artillery - 1892 Royal Artillery - 1893 Royal Artillery Royal Artillery 1894 Black Watch Regiment Black Watch Regiment 1895 2nd York and Lancaster Reg. Pioneer Club Cape Town 1896 Middlesex Regiment York and Lancaster Regiment 1897 2nd King's Royal Rifles 2nd King's Royal Rifles 1898 2nd King's Royal Rifles Pioneer Club Cape Town 1899 Royal North Lancashire Reg. Docks Club Cape Town 1900 Peninsula Club Cape Town [no tournament]

Transvaal

The Transvaal FA had been formed in 1889, under the chairmanship of A M Campbell. Their main competition was the Transvaal Challenge Cup.

            Rand League

1909 not known [*1]

[*1] participants included: Old Natalians, CSAR, Maraisburg United, Potchefstroom, Cinderella Deep, ERPM (East Rand Pro-prietary Mines), and Krugersdorp Wanderers; CSAR (Central South African Railways) were founded in 1900 as IMR (Imperial Military Railways) at Johannesburg; changed name to CSAR in 1903 and to JSAR (Johannesburg South African Railways) in 1912; after 1947 they were called Johannesburg Ramblers.

            Transvaal League

1919 Germiston Callies FC [*2] 1920-26 not known [8 teams in 1920; 12 teams in 1925] 1927 Germiston Callies FC
1928 Germiston Callies FC
1929-37 not known [*3] 1938 Germiston Callies FC
1939-44 not known 1945 Delfos 1946 Germiston Callies FC
1947 Germiston Callies FC
1948 not known 1949 Marist Brothers AFC 1950-54 not known 1955 Marist Brothers AFC [*4] 1956 Rangers FC [only 1 loss] 1957 Rangers FC [undefeated] [*5]

[*2] the 1919 league consisted of 11 clubs: Germiston Callies, Crown Mines, ERPM, Jeppe High Old Boys, Marist Brothers, Old Natalians, Queen's Park, Rangers, Roodepoort, JSAR, and Wanderers. [*3] Transvaal was split into three regional FAs in 1933: Eastern Transvaal, Northern Transvaal and Southern Transvaal; the Transvaal league continued with 10 clubs; Arcadia won the Transvaal senior league 5 times between 1928 and 1936. [*4] in 1955, Marist Brothers won 19 trophies, including every league championship title in the province from Under 14 to Transvaal League - an all-time record. [*5] the homepage of Delfos FC claim Delfos won the Transvaal League in 1957.

            Transvaal Challenge Cup

1889 Wanderers Jo'burg 3-2 Wasps Jo'burg 1890 Rangers FC Jo'burg 2-0 Wasps Jo'burg
1891 Wanderers Jo'burg 3-1 Rangers FC Jo'burg
1892 Rangers FC Jo'burg 4-0 Wanderers Jo'burg 1893 Rangers FC Jo'burg 4-2 Wanderers Jo'burg
1894 Old Natalians Jo'burg 3-2 Rangers FC Jo'burg
1895 Old Natalians Jo'burg 3-1 Rangers FC Jo'burg
1896 Rangers FC Jo'burg 2-0 Thistle 1897 Old Natalians Jo'burg 2-0 Roodepoort
1898 City FC Jo'burg 1-0 Old Natalians Jo'burg 1899 City FC Jo'burg 1-0 Roodepoort 1900 [no tournament] 1901 [no tournament] 1902 Wanderers FC 3-1 Gordon Highlanders
1903 Thistle 2-0 Wanderers FC 1904 Rangers FC 1-0 Cameron Highlanders [*5] 1905 Lancashire Fusiliers 2-0 Rangers FC 1906 Knights Deep 3-0 CSAR 1907 Cameron Highlanders 1-0 Vics 1908 Rangers FC 1-0 Marist Brothers AFC 1909 Nourse Mines 1-0 2nd Staffords 1910 2nd Hampshires 3-1 Krugersdorp Wanderers 1911 Knights Deep 2-0 Royal Scots Fusiliers 1912 Marist Brothers AFC 2-1 Royal Scots Fusiliers 1913 Germiston Callies FC 2-1 Knights Deep 1914 Old Natalians 1-0 Marist Brothers 1915 Arcadia Shepherds 3-0 Germiston Callies FC 1916 Germiston Callies 1-1 2-1 JSAR
1917 [no tournament] 1918 [no tournament]
1919 PSAR 3-3 w/o JSAR 1920 Germistin Callies FC 6-2 Jeppe Old Boys 1921 PSAR 3-0 Rangers FC 1922 PSAR 3-1 Old Natalians 1923 Benoni FC 3-1 Old Natalians 1924 PSAR 3-0 State Mine 1925 PSAR 1-1 1-0 Germiston RI 1926 JSAR drw 3-2 PSAR 1927 Germiston Callies FC 3-2 Arcadia Shepherds 1928 Germiston Callies FC 4-2 Arcadia Shepherds 1929 Benoni FC 1-0 Rangers FC 1930 Germiston Callies FC 1-0 State Mine 1931 JSAR 3-0 Johannesburg Callies 1932 Germiston Callies FC 5-2 Johannesburg Callies 1933 JSAR 5-2 Germiston Callies FC 1934 Germiston Callies FC 2-1 Berea Park 1935 JSAR 3-1 Benoni FC
1936 JSAR 4-0 Marist Brothers AFC 1937 Pretoria Municipals 5-2 State Mines 1938 Germiston Callies FC 4-1 JSAR 1939 State Mines 1940-44 [no tournament] 1945 Rangers FC bt Boksburg FC
1946 Rangers FC 3-0 Arcadia Shepherds 1947 Arcadia Shepherds 2-1 Johannesburg Ramblers
1948 Rangers FC 3-1 Garrison 1949 Rangers FC 1-1 1-0 Benoni FC 1950 Rangers FC 3-1 Benoni FC 1951 Delfos FC 0-0 1-0 Garrison 1952 Delfos FC 1-0 Marist Brothers AFC 1953 Berea Park FC 3-0 Germiston Callies FC 1954 Rangers FC 1-0 Marist Brothers AFC
1955 Johannesburg Ramblers 6-1 Garrison
1956 Marist Brothers AFC bt Johannesburg Ramblers [played Sep 8] 1957 Marist Brothers AFC 4-1 Benoni FC 1958 Marist Brothers AFC 5-1 Randfontein 1959 Boksburg FC 2-1 Berea Park 1960 Balfour Park 1961 Marist Brothers AFC 1962 Johannesburg Municipals
1963 Wanderers FC 1964 Crown Mines 1965 Johannesburg Municipals 1966 Balfour Park 1967 Blyvooruitzicht 1968 Wanderers FC 1969 Crown Mines 1970 Defence 1971 Marist-Robertsham 1972 Wanderers FC 1973 Sparta 1974 Balfour Park 1975 Balfour Park 1976 Kempton Park 1977 Wanderers FC 1978 Vaal United 1979 [no tournament] 1980 Robertsham 1981 Robertsham 1982 Robertsham 1983 Robertsham 1984 Army 4-1 Southern Callies 1985-86 [not known] 1987 Berea Park 1-0 Jeppe Quandon

NB: PSAR = Pretoria South African Railway; they were renamed Berea Park FC in 1935

[*5] in the 1904 semifinals Rangers FC eliminated CSAR after a 2-2 draw in the first match, two more draws in replays, and a win on a penalty in the third replay after two periods of extra time

            Ward and Salomons Cup

1913 Germiston Callies FC 2-1 Knights Deep 1916 Germiston Callies FC 2-1 JSAR 1920 Germiston Callies FC 6-2 Jeppe Old Boys 1927 Germiston Callies FC 3-2 Arcadia Shepherds 1928 Germiston Callies FC 4-2 Arcadia Shepherds 1930 Germiston Callies FC 1-0 State Mines 1931 Germiston Callies FC 5-2 Johannesburg Callies 1933 JSAR 5-2 Germiston Callies FC [aet] 1934 Germiston Callies FC 2-0 Berea Park
1938 Germiston Callies FC 4-1 JSAR 1951 Germiston Callies FC 3-0 Arcadia Shepherds 1953 Berea Park 3-0 Germiston Callies FC

NB: missing winners not known

            NRC Challenge Cup [NRC = Native Recruiting Corporation]

1920 Caledonians (Village Creek, Johannesburg) bt "Transvaal Champions" 1932 Simmer and Jack Natalians (Johannesburg) 5-0 Pretoria Callies

Griqualand West

The Griqualand West FA was formed in 1890 and by 1893 a Senior League competition was under way.

            Kimberley Senior League Challenge Cup

1893 Kenilworth Kimberley - 1894 Kenilworth Kimberley - 1895 Pirates Kimberley - 1896 United Mines Kimberley - 1897 United Mines Kimberley - 1898 United Mines Kimberley Kimberley Juniors 1899 United Mines Kimberley [no tournament] 1900 [no tournament] [no tournament]

Border

            East London Senior League       Frontier Challenge Shield

1894 - Queen's Park FC King Williamstown 1895 - Williamstown 1896 - Pioneers FC King Williamstown 1897 - Pioneers FC King Williamstown 1898 - Royal Berkshire Regiment 1899 Rangers FC East London Rangers FC East London 1900 Caledonians FC East London [no tournament]

Natal Province

The Natal Football Association was formed in 1882 and with it, a league comprising four clubs, Pietermaritzburg County being joined by Natal Wasps, Durban Alpha and Umgeni Stars. By the following year, the league had grown to a strength of ten clubs. The Natal Cup was presented to the Natal Football Association by Mr E.L. St John Greaves in 1883.

Natal Football League

Season Winners Runners-up Third Place

1882-1904 not known 1905 Forfarshire Berea Park Glenwood 1906-51 not known 1952 Railway Queens Park Berea Park 1953 Railway Berea Park Queens Park 1954 not played? 1955 not known 1956 not played? 1957 Stella Railway Queens Park 1958 Fynnland 1959-60 not played? 1961 Addington Hoy Park Queens Park 1962 Durban Ramblers 1963-66 not played? 1967 Durban Municipals Escombe Parkhill 1968-70 not played? 1971 Hillary 1972 not played? 1973 not known 1974,1 Pinetown Stella Virginia United
1974,2 Durban United Maritzburg Pinetown 1975 Virginia United 1976 Stella 1977 Umbilo Stella 1978 Stella 1979 Stella 1980 Stella 1981 Juventus 1982 Pinetown 1983 Fynnland 1984 Escombe ? 1985 Fynnland 1986 Stella 1987 Fynnland Hillary 1988 Stella 1989 Juventus 1990 Stella 1991 not played? 1992 Umbilo
1993 Savages Ramblers Umbilo

            Challenge Cup

1883 Natal Wasps FC Durban
1884 Natal Wasps FC Durban
1885 Natal Wasps FC Durban
1886 Natal Wasps FC Durban
1887 Victoria AC Durban 1888 Victoria AC Durban 1889 Victoria AC Durban 1890 Victoria AC Durban 1891 Victoria AC Durban 1892 Savages FC Pietermaritzburg 1893 Victoria AC Durban 1894 York and Lancaster Regiment (Pietermaritzburg) 1895 Standard Pietermaritzburg 1896 Queen's Park Durban 1897 Queen's Park Durban 1898 Leicestershire Regiment (Pietermaritzburg) 1899 Pirates Pietermaritzburg 1900 Pirates Pietermaritzburg 1901 Queen's Park Durban 1902 Etcetera Pietermaritzburg 1903 King's Royal Rifles (Harrismith) 1904 N.G.R. Durban 1905 Pirates Pietermaritzburg 1906 Berea Durban 1907 Berea Durban 1908 Thistle Durban 1909 N.G.R. Durban 1910 Wilts Pietermaritzburg 1911 Stella Durban or Etcetera Pietermaritzburg [0-0 draw, result replay n/a]

Oranje Vrĳstaat (Orange Free State)

            Bloemfontein Senior League              Challenge Cup

1895 - Heilbron FC [*] 1896 Rangers FC Bloemfontein Heilbron FC 1897 Rangers FC Bloemfontein Jagersfontein FC 1898 Railway Bloemfontein Heilbron FC 1899 Railway Bloemfontein Jagersfontein FC 1900 [no tournament] [no tournament]

[*] 4 participants including, apart from Heilbron FC, newly founded Ramblers (Bloemfontein)

Eastern Province

            Port Elizabeth Senior League

1899 Caledonians East London 1900 Wanderers Port Elizabeth

National Championships

The NFL was the traditional 'white' league, which folded in 1977. In the 1960s, a 'black' league, the NPSL was formed, which established a national professional league in 1970 after previous unsuccessful attempts (various regional league were organised before). Also in the 1960s, the 'coloured' and Indian communities set up the SASL, which did not last very long and was succeeded by the FPL at the end of the decade. When the NFL folded, most of its clubs joined the NPSL, though some (like Durban City) preferred joining the FPL until realising the crowds were elsewhere. In 1984, a rival NPSL split off following boardroom politics, upon which the major federation continued as NSL. The 'new' NPSL soon fizzled out, and the NSL also 'swallowed' the rival FPL in 1991. In 1996 the NSL changed into the PSL, when adopting the English August-May 'calendar'.

National Champions

year NFL (whites) SASL (coloureds) 1959 Durban City 1960 Highlands Park 1961 Durban City Transvaal United 1962 Highlands Park Avalon Athletic 1963 Addington Avalon Athletic 1964 Highlands Park Black Swallows 1965 Highlands Park Moroka Swallows 1966 Highlands Park Maritzburg City 1967 Port Elizabeth City Verulam Suburbs 1968 Highlands Park
year NFL FPL (coloureds) 1969 Durban Spurs Verulam Suburbs 1970 Durban City Cape Town Spurs

year NFL NPSL (blacks) FPL NPSL Castle League Mainstay League 1971 Hellenic Orlando Pirates Cape Town Spurs 1972 Durban City AmaZulu Glenville 1973 Cape Town City Orlando Pirates Cape Town Spurs 1974 Arcadia Shepherds Kaizer Chiefs Cape Town Spurs 1975 Highlands Park Orlando Pirates Berea 1976 Cape Town City Orlando Pirates Cape Town Spurs Datsun League 1977 Highlands Park Kaizer Chiefs Swaraj United

year NPSL FPL
NPSL Castle League FPL Castle League 1978 Lusitano Club Durban City Seven Seas League 1979 Kaizer Chiefs Cape Town Spurs 1980 Highlands Park Glenville 1981 Kaizer Chiefs Cape Town Spurs 1982 Durban City Glendene 1983 Durban City Lightbody's Santos 1984 Kaizer Chiefs Lightbody's Santos

year NSL NPSL FPL OK (feeder NSL) NSL Castle League NPSL League Quindrink League 1985 Bush Bucks Swaraj United QwaQwa Stars La Mercy Beach League 1986 Rangers Vaal Professionals Lightbody's Santos Leeds United 1987 Jomo Cosmos Vaal Professionals Lightbody's Santos Cape Town Spurs 1988 Mamelodi Sundowns Vaal Professionals Lightbody's Santos Giant Blackpool 1989 Kaizer Chiefs Real Sweepers Battswood Umtata Bucks 1990 Mamelodi Sundowns De Beers Lightbody's Santos African Wanderers 1991 Kaizer Chiefs Oriental Spurs dissolved Cape Town Spurs 1992 Kaizer Chiefs Arcadia Shepherds Vaal Professionals 1993 Mamelodi Sundowns Real Rovers 1994 Orlando Pirates African Wanderers 1995 Cape Town Spurs Witbank All Stars year Coca Cola Challenge 1996 Kaizer Chiefs [transitional single round robin season] year PSL 1996/97 Manning Rangers 1997/98 Mamelodi Sundowns 1998/99 Mamelodi Sundowns 1999/00 Mamelodi Sundowns 2000/01 Orlando Pirates 2001/02 Santos (Cape Town) 2002/03 Orlando Pirates 2003/04 Kaizer Chiefs 2004/05 Kaizer Chiefs 2005/06 Mamelodi Sundowns 2006/07 Mamelodi Sundowns 2007/08 SuperSport United 2008/09 SuperSport United 2009/10 SuperSport United 2010/11 Orlando Pirates 2011/12 Orlando Pirates 2012/13 Kaizer Chiefs 2013/14 Mamelodi Sundowns 2014/15 Kaizer Chiefs 2015/16 Mamelodi Sundowns 2016/17 Bidvest Wits University 2017/18 Mamelodi Sundowns 2018/19 Mamelodi Sundowns 2019/20 Mamelodi Sundowns 2020/21 Mamelodi Sundowns 2021/22 Mamelodi Sundowns 2022/23 Mamelodi Sundowns 2023/24 Mamelodi Sundowns

Number of NPSL/NSL/PSL championships (53; since 1971)

17 Mamelodi Sundowns

12 Kaizer Chiefs (does not include 1996 transitional league)

9 Orlando Pirates

3 SuperSport United

2 Durban City (also won 4 NFL championships)

1 AmaZulu Bidvest Wits University Bush Bucks Cape Town Spurs Highlands Park (also won 8 NFL championships) Jomo Cosmos Lusitano Manning Rangers (Durban) Rangers (Johannesburg) Santos (Cape Town)

About this document

Sources included: [iffhs], [Lit 65],[Sin 83],[Bak 96],[Bak 97],[Raa 02], newspaper "Natal Witness" (1911), http://www.todor66.com/football/Africa/South\_Africa/index\_Transvaal\_Challenge\_Cup.html, http://www.todor66.com/football/Africa/South\_Africa/Natal/index.html

With many thanks to Mark Gleeson and Nevil Cohen for additional information

Prepared and maintained by Hans Schöggl, Neil Morrison, Ian King and Mikael Jönsson for theRec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

Authors: Hans Schöggl, Neil Morrison, Ian King and Mikael Jönsson Last updated: 3 May 2024

(C) Copyright Hans Schöggl, Neil Morrison, Ian King, Mikael Jönsson and RSSSF 1998/2024
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All rights reserved.