Mafori Cup 2026 | 14 July 2026
Polokwane City have been paired with fellow Betway Premiership side Sekhukhune United in the first semi-final of the inaugural Mafori Cup, following the tournament’s official launch at The Ranch Hotel outside Polokwane on Monday, 14 July 2026. The Motsepe Foundation Championship Rise and Shine will kick off against Sekhukhune at 09:00 on Saturday, 25 July at Seshego Stadium — the opening match of a single-day pre-season showcase that will end with a final at 15:00 and a R250,000 winner’s cheque on the line.
The tournament format
Four teams have been drawn — two Betway Premiership sides (Polokwane City and Sekhukhune United) and two Motsepe Foundation Championship sides (Magesi FC and Venda FC). The Polokwane City–Sekhukhune semi-final at 09:00 is followed by Venda FC–Magesi FC at 11:00, with the winners meeting in a 15:00 final and the losers playing off for third. It is a genuine one-day tournament rather than a group format, which will suit clubs at this stage of their pre-season — hard 90 minutes, tactical stakes, home crowds, a return to Polokwane before the league campaign proper. SuperSport TV will broadcast live, tickets are R50, and Vicky Simpson has been booked as the local music act.
What the prize pool signals
R250,000 to the winners, R150,000 to the runners-up, and R100,000 each to the two losing semi-finalists is a meaningful figure by pre-season standards. It puts the Mafori Cup in the top tier of regional warm-up tournaments and signals real institutional backing behind what is a first-year event. For Polokwane City, appearing in the opening game and playing 45 minutes on the same pitch that many of their supporters will drive past on match days gives the tournament an outsized local profile.
Why this fixture matters more than a friendly
Sekhukhune United and Polokwane City are Limpopo-adjacent Premiership neighbours whose fixtures always carry weight; framing that neighbourhood rivalry as a semi-final rather than a training-run friendly changes the tactical incentive. Polokwane City are still absorbing the departure of head coach Phuti Mohafe to Marumo Gallants and settling in his successor’s structures. Sekhukhune, by contrast, are refining an established Premiership setup. A 90-minute test at 09:00 on 25 July will not decide the season, but it will tell Rise and Shine’s technical bench things about the group that only a real match can.
