The Premier Soccer League (PSL) released the league fixtures for the Motsepe Foundation Championship (MFC), formerly known as the GladAfrica Championship, this week. The opening matches will be played over the first weekend of September.
Only one of the three teams based in the Vhembe District, namely Black Leopards, will play their opening match at home. Lidoda duvha, as they are commonly known, will host Hungry Lions FC at their new home ground, Malamulele Stadium, on Saturday, 3 September.
Hungry Lions will go back to Kimberley with empty hands if Black Leopards' performance in their last 10 league games for the previous season is anything to go by. Leopards won eight of their last 10 league matches and shared the spoils in the other two.
Venda Football Academy (VFA) will open their league programme by undertaking a journey to Polokwane, where they will play against the newly promoted Magesi FC at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on the same day.
VFA's new signees, including the former Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila sharpshooter, Rhulani Manzini, will be put to the test in the game. Manzini, together with the other new faces, was introduced to the fans shortly before the start of the Vhembe Super Cup Tournament's final game between Madridtas and Mashamba Soccer Academy at the Thohoyandou Stadium last Saturday.
Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM) will play their match on Sunday, 4 September. They will pay a visit to Casric Stars at the Solomon Mahlangu Stadium in Kwamhlanga outside Pretoria.
The other opening fixtures for the MFC are MM Platinum vs JDR Stars, Platinum City Rovers vs Cape Town All Stars, Pretoria Callies vs Cape Town Spurs, University of Pretoria vs Polokwane City and Baroka FC vs Uthongathi FC.