Stellenbosch FC CEO Rob Benandie has reflected on a 2024 year filled with highs and lows for the Cape Winelands outfit across all their ranks including the junior level, women’s team, and the Betway Premiership side.

Stellies have quickly become a force to be reckoned with in South African football following their promotion to the top-flight division in the 2019/20 season. Since then, they went on to stamp their authority in youth football and the elite league.

Their Under-18’s went unbeaten in the league last season and retained the Engen regional competition while the Dstv Diski Challenge team won the league on the last day of the season before clinching the next Gen competition in the UK against the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace, and Aston Villa.

Furthermore, the club established a women’s team last year, which went on to be unbeaten in the second half of the season to finish in an impressive third place in the Sasol Regional League in their debut campaign.

“We’ve had a very interesting 2024 and I’d like to just reflect for a few seconds on the calendar year of 2024. We’ve been blessed in that we’ve had a lot of success on the field,” said a proud Benandie of the memorable year.

“And then of course our professional team, the PSL team where 2024 saw us playing more games than we’ve ever played before (42), and this is due to a success. Last year this time we were sitting pretty as the Carling Cup champions.

“We didn’t manage to defend that title, but we did manage to get into another cup final, you’ll remember in Durban, narrowly missing out in the MTN8 to Orlando Pirates. Also reaching the semi-final of the Nedbank Cup was a big achievement for the club.

“And then of course ending the Premier Soccer League in third position to qualify for CAF for the very first time where we’ve gone on to reach the group stage and also our first win in the CAF group stage in Angola just a short while ago,” he added.

Benandie also addressed the frustration of not being able to play their home matches at their usual venue the Danie Craven Stadium, offering assurance to the club’s supporters that they are working around the clock to restore normality.

“So, I’d like to also say to the supporters, obviously you don’t only have success, there are challenges, there are frustrations in a season. We lost one or two of our players that were with us for a very long time (Iqraam Rayners and Deano van Rooyen) and added value to us, we lost one or two staff members,” he said.

“Not playing at our beloved home at Danie Craven Stadium has been a big frustration for you the supporters, I know, and this is really because of the quality of the field not being up to the standard of the PSL at this stage.

“It’s largely out of our control at the club, but what I can tell you is that we are working very hard with several stakeholders to make sure that this doesn’t happen again. We can’t wait to see you back at the Danie Craven Stadium towards the end of January and in February as we move to the second half of the PSL season.”