By Goal.com News on Sunday, 06 September 2020
Category: Goal.com News

MTN8: Mamelodi Sundowns to face Bloemfontein Celtic, Kaizer Chiefs to play Maritzburg United

Ernest Makhaya

South Africa Chief Editor

The official draw is yet to be made by the league but the procedure remains the same and teams already know who they will be facing next season

The match-ups for the 2020-21 MTN8 competition were confirmed on Saturday following the completion of the 2019-20 season. 

As this has been in the previous season, teams that finished in the top four will enjoy home ground advantage and will be seeded, meaning they will play terms that are finished outside the top four. 

Mamelodi Sundowns successfully overhauled Kaizer Chiefs and won the championship - their third successive league title and their 10th since the inception of the PSL.  

The Brazilians will play Bloemfontein Celtic who finished eighth on the log. 

Kaizer Chiefs finished second behind the Tshwane giants and will therefore play Maritzburg United, who finished seventh on the PSL log.  

Orlando Pirates did the most they could since the arrival of Josef Zinnbauer in December 2019 by finishing third and qualifying for the Caf Confederation Cup. 

They will then get to face Cape Town City who finished sixth on the log after the tough campaign they had. 

The Citizens were written off by many following the sacking of Benni McCarthy in 2019 but Jan Olde Riekerink saved the campaign and finished in a respectable despite the criticism from many football fans in South Africa

Lastly, Bidvest Wits secured the fourth spot but they will not exist beyond the current season after selling their PSL status to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM) owner Masala Mulaudzi. 

This means TTM will campaign in the MTN8 in their first season in the top-flight and they will face SuperSport United. 

With the 2020-21 season pencilled to kick off on the weekend of the October 9-10, it is expected that the season will get underway with the MTN8 taking the centre stage. 

The official draw for the MTN8 and the launch is expected to take place some time this month while the dates and venues will be released at a later stage. 

The MTN8 remains South Africa's richest Cup competition as eventual winners pocket R8 million prize money. 

Chiefs remain the only team to win it 15 times, a record that's yet to be matched by any team in the history of South African football. 

MTN8 fixtures in full: 

Mamelodi Sundowns vs Bloemfontein Celtic

Kaizer Chiefs vs Maritzburg United

Orlando Pirates vs Cape Town City 

TTM vs SuperSport United

  

Original link
Original author: Ernest Makhaya
Leave Comments