25 May 2026 – The much talked about and highly anticipated new-look Hollywoodbets Super League Amplified festival kicked off this past weekend with a lot of fanfare, and goals galore to add to the equation.
UJ Soweto Campus hosted the first three-day event which had an electric atmosphere in the stands as many spectators turned up to watch. While the action was hot on the field, it was even hotter off it with various dancers gracing the scene, cheerleaders and league sponsor Hollywoodbets running competitions for the spectators.
It was a festival mood throughout and a great sight to behold.
The concept of the tournament is 16 teams divided into two streams named Super Rise and Super Era, playing eight games over three days, all in one venue.
“This was a good start kicking off our top tier league. The attendance was amazing. We can only hope that with the upcoming festivals, it will grow even larger. This is a chance for the different cities to show support to our Hollywoodbets Super League Amplified, the teams and players that play in it. We are closely monitoring how it unfolds as it will guide our next steps,” said an excited Dawn Lubisi, the South African Football Association’s (SAFA) Head of Women’s Football, who was in attendance throughout the weekend.
“We need to get women’s football up where it belongs and this season provides us an opportunity to do just that. Having played eight games in the past three days, all in one venue and with a total of 26 goals, this promises to be an exciting season.”
Three teams made their debut in the topflight of women’s football in South Africa – Diepkloof Ladies (Gauteng) and Ramatlaohle Ladies (who were both promoted from the SAFA Provincial Women’s League last season, alongside Stellenbosch Ladies who purchased the status of the University of Cape Town (UCT).
The trio faced a baptism of fire as they all fell on the first day. Ramatlaohle lost 4-1 to JVW, Stellies were beaten 3-0 by the University of Pretoria (Tuks) while Diepkloof Ladies suffered a 6-0 loss to the league defending champions, Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies.
A total of 26 goals were scored in the first instalment of the women’s football festival with JVW’s Gabriela Moodaly-Salgado claiming the opening goal of the season.
In other results, The University of the Western Cape (UWC) came back from two goals down to share the spoils with TS Galaxy Queens in one of the most exciting fixtures of the three-day festival. Copperbelt Ladies brushed aside Richmond Ladies 3-1, TUT Football Club floored City Lads Ladies 2-0, hosts the University of Johannesburg had the better of Ezemvelo 2-0, while only one encounter failed to produce goals, with the University of Fort Hare (UFH) and First Touch ending goalless.
“This is something I expected, it gives us coaches an opportunity to follow players consistently, follow teams consistently, and it also brings out the crowd. We had a very good crowd for a cold Friday evening where we had only one game, and even though we talk about quality on the field but you also need the numbers in the stands because that is the only way that we can attract more sponsorship for women’s football,” said Sasol Banyana Banyana Head Coach Dr Desiree Ellis.
“I am very excited, first games are always tough because teams last played five months ago, and the more experienced sides were better organized, but for the newer teams, those that just came into the league and the ones who joined a year or two ago, it was a little bit tough. I think after the second and the third game we are going to see better qualify of football. I am also very excited about the format, it is giving us a lot more competition, the intensity of the games is getting better and hopefully we’ll see more going forward.”
The new concept of the league sees the departure from the traditional one stream of 16 teams, as the new format introduces two groups of eight teams each. All of this is designed to improve match-day experiences.
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