Relegated Motsepe Foundation Championship side Black Leopards are heading to court to challenge the SAFA arbitration ruling, which dismissed their application to replay four key fixtures.
Leopards had been fighting to replay their first four matches of the 2025/26 season, arguing that the Premier Soccer League [PSL] erred over a supposed FIFA ban at the beginning of last season.
According to the club, the PSL initially issued them with new player registration cards but later withdrew them, citing a FIFA ban.
RELEGATED SIDE FEEL HARD DONE BY AFTER SUPPOSED FIFA BAN
This forced the club to play their first match against Casric Stars with 10 players, with their then captain Thendo Mukumela playing as a makeshift goalkeeper.
They also played their next two matches against the University of Pretoria and Lerumo Lions without the required number of Under-23 players.
Despite both matches ending in a stalemate, both Lerumo and AmaTuks were awarded maximum points after both matches were played under protest. Lidoda Duvha subsequently appealed and took the matter to the SAFA arbitration.
However, the club also lost after SAFA arbitrator Advocate Hilton Epstein SC ruled against them and also ordered them to pay costs. Their relegation to the SAFA ABC Motsepe League was subsequently confirmed alongside their neighbours, Baroka FC, last season.
BLACK LEOPARDS HOPING TO FIND JOY AT THE HIGH COURT IN JOHANNESBURG
FARPost has since established that the club has now approached the court to intervene on the matter. The matter is expected to sit before the High Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday, 28 July 2026. The club has reportedly also set their sights on the Court of Arbitration for Sport [CAS] on the same matter.
However, time may be running out for the Limpopo-based club, with the Motsepe Foundation Championship season set to get underway on 22 August 2026.
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