{"id":93923,"date":"2026-04-20T12:38:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T10:38:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=93923"},"modified":"2026-04-20T12:38:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T10:38:39","slug":"will-the-absa-wildeklawer-soccer-tournament-go-free-states-way-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=93923","title":{"rendered":"Will the Absa Wildeklawer Soccer Tournament go Free State’s way again?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
2025 Absa Wildeklawer Soccer Tournament, Virginia High School<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since the first edition of the Absa Wildeklawer Soccer Tournament<\/strong> in 2022, Free State schools have shone, winning the tournament every year, except in 2024, when Clapham High claimed victory<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Catch the action LIVE on SuperSport Schools\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The forthcoming Absa Wildeklawer Soccer Tournament kicks off on Friday, 24 April, and runs through to Monday, 27 April. It features some of South Africa’s best sides in one of the country’s toughest events.<\/p>\n

HTS Louis Botha<\/strong><\/a> won the first two Absa Wildeklawer Soccer Tournament titles, going back-to-back in 2022 and 2023. Pretoria’s Clapham High then won in 2024, defeating Grey College<\/strong> in the final. If Grey had won, the title would have belonged to a Free State side every year because Virginia High rose to the challenge and won the tournament last year<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

They met the event’s surprise package, the Wildeklawer Academy<\/strong>, in the 2025 final and were taken to penalties after regulation time ended with the teams level at 2-2. Holding their nerve, in a tense finish, Virginia High clinched the title 4-3 from the spot.<\/p>\n

Six players in the Team of the Tournament underlined their dominance.<\/p>\n

Virginia will face a tough task defending the title. Among those trying to stop them will be the two-time winners, HTS Louis Botha, and the 2024 champs, Clapham High.<\/p>\n

KwaZulu-Natal sides have not enjoyed much luck in the tournament, but Maritzburg College<\/strong>, a regular participant, will aim to change that. They’ll be joined by Northwood<\/strong>, which is an intriguing side.<\/p>\n

The Knights<\/strong> <\/em>were almost relegated from the KZNHSFA Coastal A-League <\/strong>last year, but they caught fire later in the season, winning the Cowie Cup<\/strong><\/a> and also finishing as the runner-up in the Primo Big 10<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Paul Roos Gimnasium<\/strong> will bear watching. They have a strong football tradition, but have not yet made a significant impact at the Absa Wildeklawer Soccer Tournament. It will be their goal to change that in 2026.<\/p>\n

In 2025, Xolile Taba, the Headmaster of the host school, Kimberley Boys’ High<\/a>,<\/strong> described the tournament as one that creates an immediate impact and fosters real growth, providing exposure to young talent. In 2026, the event will again offer a national stage upon which some of the country’s most talented and exciting footballers will be able to express their skills.<\/p>\n

FIXTURES
\n<\/strong>
\nFriday, 24 April<\/strong><\/p>\n

Field 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

14:00 – Kimberley Boys’ High vs Northern Academy
\n15:00 – Northwood vs Navalsig
\n16:00 – Queen’s College vs Virginia High
\n19:30 – HTS Louis Botha vs Jeppe<\/p>\n

Field 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

14:00 – Clapham vs Wildeklawer Academy
\n15:00 – Grey College vs Vaal High
\n16:00 – Norkem Park High vs Victoria Park
\n19:30 – Reddam Bedfordview vs Maritzburg College<\/p>\n

Saturday, 15 April<\/strong><\/p>\n

Field 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

08:00 – Grey College vs Maritzburg College
\n09:30 – Northern Academy vs Brebner High
\n10:30 – Navalsig vs Paul Roos
\n11:30 – Kimberley Boys’ High vs Victoria Park
\n12:30 – Navalsig High vs Jeppe
\n13:30 – Spring Boys’ High vs Queen’s College
\n14:30 – Paul Roos vs HTS Louis Botha
\n15:30 – Northern Academy vs Victoria Park
\n16:30 – Kimberley Boys’ High vs Brebner High
\n17:30 – Northwood vs Paul Roos
\n18:30 – Northern Academy vs Norkem Pak High
\n19:30 – Reddam Bedfordview vs Vaal High<\/p>\n

Field 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

08:30 – Northwood vs Jeppe
\n09:30 – Wildeklawer Academy vs Springs Boys’ High
\n10:30 – Vaal High vs Emmang Mmogo
\n11;30 – Clapham High vs Virginia High
\n12:30 – Brebner High vs Norkem Park High
\n13:30 – Vaal High vs Maritzburg College
\n14:30 – Emmang Mmogo vs Reddam Bedfordview
\n15:30 – Wildeklawer Academy vs Virginia High
\n16:30 – Clapham High vs Springs Boys’ High
\n17:30 – Grey College vs St Mark’s Academy
\n18:30 – Queen’s College vs Wildeklawer Academy
\n19:30 – HTS Louis Botha vs Navalsig High<\/p>\n

Sunday, 26 April<\/strong><\/p>\n

Field 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

08:30 – Kimberley Boys’ High vs Norkem Park
\n09:30 – Northwood vs Brebner High
\n10:30 – Victoria Park vs Brebner High
\n11:30 – Jeppe vs Paul Roos
\n13:00 – Quarterfinal Match 1
\n14:00 – Quarterfinal Match 2<\/p>\n

Field 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

08:30 – Clapham High vs Queen’s College
\n09:30 – Grey College vs Reddam Bedfordview
\n10:30 – Virginia High vs Springs Boys’ High
\n11:30 – Maritburg College vs Emmang Mmogo
\n13:00 – Quarterfinal Match 1
\n14:00 – Quarterfinal Match 2<\/p>\n

Monday, 27 April<\/strong><\/p>\n

Field 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

08:00 – Semifinal: Winner Match 1 vs Winner Match 2<\/p>\n

Field 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

08:00 – Semifinal: Winner Match 2 vs Winner Match 4<\/p>\n

Field 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

12:00 – Final<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since the first edition of the Absa Wildeklawer Soccer Tournament in 2022, Free State schools have shone, winning the tournament every year, except in 2024, when Clapham High claimed victory. Catch the action LIVE on SuperSport Schools\u00a0 The forthcoming Absa Wildeklawer Soccer Tournament kicks off on Friday, 24 April, and runs through to Monday, 27 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":71463,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=93923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/71463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=93923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=93923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=93923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}