The teams playing in the Motsepe Foundation Championship, Casric Stars and Milford FC, CAN make history if they both win their semi-final matches in the Nedbank Cup this weekend.
This competition is played by teams in different stages of local football from the top, the Betway Premiership, to the fourth, the Safa Regional League.
Although it has happened a few times that teams from the lower divisions have reached the finals, it has never happened that they did not play in the top division.
In 2008, which was the first year it was known as the Nedbank Cup, Mpumalanga Black Aces became the first team not in the top division to reach the final but lost to Mamelodi Sundowns 1-0.
The following year, the University of Pretoria reached the finals from the second division, which was also defeated by the team that played in the top division, Moroka Swallows, 1-0.
The Black Leopards represented teams playing in the second division and reached the final in 2011, where they were defeated by Orlando Pirates 3-1.
History was made in 2019, when TS Galaxy became the first team playing in the second division to lift the Nedbank Cup trophy, defeating Kaizer Chiefs in the final.
Casric Stars and Milford FC have the chance to make a new record by going through their semi-final matches this weekend.
Casric will face the Betway Premiership team, Durban City, at Chatsworth Stadium, Durban, on Saturday at 3 pm, while the Milford team will face another team playing in the top division, TS Galaxy at Solomon Mahlangu Stadium, KwaMhlanga, on Sunday at 3 pm.
Casric’s road to the semi-finals started in the qualifiers for the Motsepe Foundation Championship where they beat Black Leopards 1-0. In the Last 32, they defeated a team from the lower division, Army Rockets, 3-0.
This team started to shine in the Last 16 when they beat Orlando Pirates 5-4 on penalties after a game that ended in a 0-0 draw.
They also defeated another team playing in the top division in the quarterfinals, defeating AmaZulu FC 2-1.
Milford’s journey also started in the qualifiers in the second division where they won against Baroka FC 2-0. In the Last 32, they beat SSU M17 4-3 on penalties in a game that ended 1-1.
In the last 16, they went 3-0 in the group against Mkhambathi FC, and in the quarterfinals they eliminated Sekhukhune United, who play in the top division, winning 3-2 on penalties following a 2-2 draw.
Apart from this opportunity to face each other in the Nedbank Cup final, Casric and Milford are in intense competition for the Motsepe Foundation Championship title.
In this league, Milford is on top with 40 points from 22 games, while Casric is in fourth place with 38 points from equal games.