Ida’s Valley AFC was promoted to the SAFA Cape Winelands Men’s Regional League (MRL) 2026/2027 season after a 10-year drought. They finished second-place in the Stellenbosch Local Football Association (SLFA) Super League 2026.
Ida’s Valley AFC has been promoted to the SAFA Cape Winelands Men’s Regional League (MRL) 2026/2027 season after a 10-year drought. PHOTO: Nomndeni Ndlovu
Ida’s Valley AFC went unbeaten for three seasons before being defeated by Burnley FC from Jamestown in the final game of the league, said Ryan Jumat, chairman of Ida’s Valley AFC.
Despite losing the game, the team was still called into the MRL due to SAFA Cape Winelands MRL expanding the number of teams that will play to 28 teams.
Ida’s Valley AFC was one of the chosen football teams in the SLFA to be promoted to the MRL, said Byron Ruiters, media liaison of Ida’s Valley AFC. The football team announced their promotion through a statement on 23 July.
“The first season is just to survive. As soon as we have established ourselves we [will] now become competitive and challenge for further promotion,” said Ruiters.
Ida’s Valley last played in the MRL in 2016. They faced relegation after their referee was not present on the day they were playing a match, according to Jumat. For every match taking place, a team is required to have its own referee.
Ida’s Valley AFC at the Ida’s Valley Sports Ground during training on Wednesday, 12 August. PHOTO: Nomndeni Ndlovu
“Our referee did not pitch for the one game and the LFA punished the top team by deducting points,” said Jumat. To ensure they do not face the same dilemma, Jumat added that the team brought in more referees to represent Ida’s Valley AFC.
“We got this opportunity also due to the fact that we went three seasons unbeaten during the league campaign. We lost one final, a deciding match in the end,” said Jumat.
Eon Hendrikse, a club supporter and community activist, said the club’s purpose is to also keep boys away from societal issues, such as drug use and violence.
“The mother does not have to stress, the grandmother does not have to stress; their son is at training,” said Hendrikse.
Football helps keep young boys away from societal issues such as drugs and violence, says Eon Hendrikse, community activist and supporter of Ida’s Valley AFC. PHOTO: Nomndeni Ndlovu
Charl Beukes, head coach of Ida’s Valley AFC, explained that the team had more experienced players last season and they need to look at the continuity of the club for this upcoming season.
“I won’t say we need more mature players but we need to look at the continuity of our club. We can’t get too much experience otherwise we will lose out on them in the next two seasons. We [will] rather rebuild our younger ones,” said Beukes.
“They’ll be faster and stronger . We are more than capable of dealing with obstacles coming our way.”