Khothatso Leballo

The Tshwane giants bounced back to winning ways and reclaimed Premier Soccer League top spot right on their return from the 2025 AFCON break with a result stating their intentions in their bid for a ninth straight title. Their Portuguese coach started what looked like a second-string side before throwing in familiar names in the second half. But they still managed to see off the challenge of their visitors from Limpopo.

The Soweto giants have been enduring contrasting fortunes this season, with Amakhosi part of the chasing pack in the Premier Soccer League title race. They are trailing their traditional rivals, who are touted as one of the favourites to be crowned PSL champions. A defender with first-hand experience playing for both teams has explained the gap between the two clubs, pointing to key differences.

The 29-year-old started the season in a promising manner and was being touted as a deserving player to be selected for Bafana Bafana duty, but fizzled out and was being frozen out by Buccaneers coach Abdeslam Ouaddou. That sparked transfer rumours and the forward has now moved to the Cape Winelands where he will try to pick up form and end the season on a high.

The Soweto giants have concluded a partnership with a club from their neighbouring country. The move has attracted so many reactions from football fans, most of them mocking the agreement between the two teams. Questions have been raised about what the Soweto giants will benefit from the relationship.

The Brazilians are back from the 2025 AFCON break and resume their bid to win the Premier Soccer League title when they host Mswenko Boys at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Monday. Starting the year part of the chasing pack seeking to dislodge Orlando Pirates from the top of the table, Masandawana need nothing short of victory in their backyard amid some pressure on coach Miguel Cardoso.

The experienced coach has been without a job for the past year since leaving his position at Esteghlal FC in the Iranian Pro League. During his time unattached, he has been linked with a move to Kaizer Chiefs and, more recently, a possible return to Chloorkop. The coach himself has admitted that several clubs have approached him, but none of the offers met his expectations.

GOAL gives you the details to follow the Teranga Lions' clash with the Atlas Lions at Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah on Sunday. This is a deciding match of this continental competition between teams that have each been crowned African champions once before. A lot is at stake in Rabat on Sunday with the hosts out to avoid humiliation on home soil while the West Africans would be keen to cause an upset.

The experienced coach is now at the helm of the Cape Winelands side after parting ways with Durban City midway through the 2025/26 season. He joins a team that often competes for the Premier Soccer League title despite having a modest squad and being a selling club losing key players to big clubs. The Maroons job comes with expectations maintain the standards created by his predecessor.

The 33-year-old returns to the Western Cape after being with the Brazilians since August 2018 for a trophy-laden spell at Chloorkop. He had been rumoured to be on his way out of Masandawana in the past two seasons, but managed to stay longer. Now he moves to the Cape Winelands, eager to earn some game time under one of the Premier Soccer League's experienced coaches.

Transfer activity has picked up in the Premier Soccer League as well as overseas, with several moves already capturing the attention of South African football followers. Players have been switching clubs both locally and abroad and more transfers are expected to be finalised in the coming days as clubs continue to reshape their squads.

The Soweto giants have been loaning a number of reserve team players to local clubs as well as teams outside South Africa to get valuable first-team experience. This has drawn attention from supporters, with some questioning the overall quality of talent coming through the ranks at Naturena.

South Africa are set to return to the global football showpiece for the first time since 2010, when they hosted the tournament on home soil. Their last successful qualification campaign came when they secured a place at the 2002 edition in South Korea and Japan. Now, the 1996 African champions will be bidding to prove that they truly belong on the elite stage of world football.

The Leopards forward has been part of a misfiring Amakhosi attack and he has scored just three goals in 14 appearances across all competitions this season. That kind of form has not helped his case for national-team selection in a squad that boasts in-form strikers such as Fiston Mayele, Cedric Bakambu and Meschak Elia.

The Buccaneers and Mamelodi Sundowns have been active in the transfer market as they continue to reinforce their squads with new signings. In contrast, Amakhosi have remained quiet and are yet to bring in a single player at Naturena. Their inactivity comes at a time when the Glamour Boys are struggling to break into the top three of the PSL standings.

The Soweto giants are on course to end the 2025/26 campaign with four major trophies in their cabinet. This comes after an impressive first half of the season, despite a setback in the CAF Champions League. The Buccaneers are now conducting their transfer business as they look to assemble a stronger squad for the remainder of the season.

The Zimbabwe international has lost his place in the Masandawana starting line-up, with coach Miguel Cardoso now preferring Aubrey Modiba. This comes despite the former Golden Arrows man being the first-choice left-back at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Amid expectations that he would continue in that role, he has instead slipped down the pecking order.

The Premier Soccer League relegation candidates could struggle to find a suitable replacement for Masandawana's new signing as they fight to avoid the chop from top-flight football. Securing a player of the calibre of their former vice-captain is likely to prove difficult in the current January transfer window. It is a test the Mswenko Boys were not prepared for, according to their coach.

GOAL gives you the details to follow the Super Eagles' semi-final clash with the Atlas Lions at Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah on Wednesday. The West Africans will be out to cause what might be the biggest upset of this tournament so far by eliminating the hosts. Both sides are just one game away from reaching the final and that makes Wednesday's game a high-stakes affair.