Venda Football Club (VFC) may not have qualified for promotion to the Betway Premiership Division, but the club remains optimistic about the future. According to the club’s marketing manager, Nelo Ntshudisane, management has already started planning for the new season, while players will continue working during the off-season.
Ntshudisane said that although the players had been given six weeks’ rest before training resumes, management would continue working behind the scenes as part of preparations for the new campaign. She added that everyone at the club was concerned about the position in which the team finished the season.
Ntshudisane described the 2025/26 season as the worst for the Thohoyandou-based side. Maunavhathu, as the team is also known, finished ninth on the log with 36 points. At one stage, the club was among the top three teams after a strong start to the season. VFC were also among the title contenders before the festive break.
The team’s performance, however, declined during the latter stages of the campaign. Ntshudisane said the club’s aim next season is to challenge strongly for promotion and at least secure a promotional play-off spot should automatic promotion prove out of reach. She added that supporters should expect a new-look VFC when the new season begins.
According to Ntshudisane, the team will resume normal training sessions on Monday, 6 July, to give the technical staff enough time to prepare before the new soccer season starts over the weekend of 22 and 23 August.