Wits Football Club Dominate the Pirates Cup
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The Wits Football Club showed phenomenal performances that led to a great finish and great motivation for more to come.
The illustrious Pirates Cup played over the Easter holidays and the Wits football teams showcased a stellar performance. The men and women football teams both placed third at the end of the tournament, after a series of class displays throughout their campaign. Team captains Morena Ramashala and Lizza ‘Dunga’ Mokoena led their teams to the podium and shared their views on their performance and the teams’ efforts.
Lizza Mokoena is the team captain for the Wits Ladies Pirates Cup football team and has been an anchor for the team. The Wits Ladies placed third after an intense period of training and preparation for the tournament which proved to be fruitful. “We started the preparations at training, where we built a strong bond and team spirit that paid off because we came back with a prize,” Mokoena said.
The Ladies team is joined by the Men’s football team who placed in the same position at the Men’s section of the 2025 Pirates Cup. The Men’s goalkeeper and team captain, Morena Ramashala, led his team to an impressive bronze finish with the aim of an even better victory in the future.
“I think the team did well with our defense, overall, we did exceptionally well. We have a brotherhood going on within the football set-up at Wits and I believe that is what got us as far as we went,” Ramashala shared.
The tournament is often quite taxing as the teams are required to play multiple games a day, which could quickly lead to fatigue, and that is an issue that both sides faced. Many players were injured quite easily, and this was a challenge for both teams, but they persevered and came out victorious.
Both the men and women’s teams had their share of ups and downs, but the ups greatly outweighed the downs. For the women, Mokoena shared that their qualification for the knockout stages was a highlight that motivated them throughout the rest of the tournament. Ramashala shared that for him, a personal highlight was their penalty shootout victory that got them to the semifinals, where he saved three penalties. “I mean, as a keeper, you dream of moments like those,” he said.
The Wits football teams have a lot to be proud of after such compelling displays, and they are both aim for even more as the season progresses. Ramashala stated that the Men’s team has goals to compete and become victorious in the upcoming Varsity Football Campaign and the same applies for the USSA Football Championships later this year, and Mokoena shared that the Ladies’ team aims to win the Sasol League and get promoted to the Hollywood Bets Super League. The Wits Community stands with them and wishes them the best in the future.
