It is now official. Black Leopards have been relegated to the National First Division.
This follows their 1-3 defeat at the hands of Free State Stars at the Goble Park Stadium in the Free State last Saturday.
Lidoda Duvha went to the Free State with no chance of escaping outright relegation. The least they could do was to win the match and hope that the other relegation candidates, Chippa United, lose their match against Amazulu, so that they could secure a place in the platinum promotional playoffs, something which did not happen. Instead, the worst happened as Chippa United came back from a 0-1 deficit and beat Amazulu 2-1 at the Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban.
While Black Leopards are preparing themselves for a new life in the lower league, Chippa United remain hopeful that they will make the grade in the playoffs and retain their elite-league franchise.
The opening matches for the promotional playoffs are scheduled for next Wednesday, May 29. Two teams from the National First Division who finished their league programmes in second and third position, Mpumalanga Black Aces and Santos, will be joined by Chippa United in the playoffs.
Black Leopards finished the season with 23 points, five behind Chippa United, who had been languishing at the bottom of the log since the beginning of the season, until Lidoda Duvha took over three weeks ago. They managed to win only five matches.
A post mortem to establish what exactly led to the slump by Leopards is not necessary as it is common knowledge that their defence was to blame. The strikers managed to score in almost every match, but the defence leaked left, right and centre. The team conceded 12 goals in their last three matches, losing 2-5 to Mamelodi Sundowns, 2-4 to Orlando Pirates and 1-3 to Free State Stars.
The chairman of Black Leopards, Mr David Thidiela, has appealed to the residents of Limpopo to continue supporting the club, saying they would do everything within their power to ensure that they return to the elite division at the end of next season.
Lidoda Duvha will receive R400 000 as their "league prize," while the champions, Kaizer Chiefs, will take home R10 million and a floating trophy.