Sixteen U19 girls’ football teams are competing this weekend in the inaugural Curro Halala Cup, a tournament built to give girls’ school football the kind of national stage that has, until now, largely belonged to the boys’ game.
The timing isn’t incidental. Held during Women’s Month, the tournament responds to a measurable shift already under way, with the number of girls’ football teams across the Curro network having more than doubled in the past three years.
‘You are here not as a supporting act, but as the main event,’ Curro Deputy CEO Marí Lategan told players at the opening. ‘Women’s football in South Africa is rising. Scouts are watching. But more than that: somewhere in this country, a young girl is going to see you compete this weekend and think that could be me.’
A field built on real form
The sixteen teams arrive with credentials, not just enthusiasm. Curro Wilgeheuwel’s U19 side has won the Waterstone Super Cup three times running, most recently in 2025, and is regarded as one of the top school football squads in Gauteng.
Curro Soshanguve learner Onkarabile Ramoganya was selected to represent her school at the 2026 Tximist Cup in Spain, a tournament that draws strong youth women’s football teams from around the world.
Norkem Park has tested itself against senior-affiliated opposition, including Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies U20, at the 2026 Gauteng Engen Knockout Challenge U20 Girls. Steyn City brings one of the tournament’s more established girls’ football programmes, while
Parktown Girls now fields five teams in the JVW Schools League, competing against schools from Johannesburg, Pretoria and Ekurhuleni. Its first team and U15A side both finished top of their respective streams this season.
Why this platform matters
Seventeen-year-old Bonolo Mokoma has lived the pathway the tournament is trying to build. The JVW player scored on her senior international debut for Banyana Banyana at the 2026 COSAFA Women’s Championship and returned to the Halala Cup this week to speak to the next generation coming up behind her.
Mokoma acknowledged that stepping onto a national stage can be daunting for young players, particularly when they know they are being watched and judged. But her message to them was simple: ‘Just keep on believing. To play for Banyana Banyana, you can make it.’
She also pointed to the opportunities the tournament can create beyond the field, from greater investment in women’s football to pathways into national teams and professional clubs locally and abraod. ‘There are coaches here who are scouting for players to go and play for their clubs,’ she said.
Norkem Park Head of Sport Andrew Gifford sees the same value from the sideline.
‘I don’t think I can put into words what this tournament does for the boys and girls. We need tournaments like this,’ he said.
Gifford sees the Curro Halala Cup as a platform that can open doors both on and off the pitch, giving young players the chance to be seen by professional clubs, universities and colleges.
‘We’re using football as a vehicle for the kids to go further with their academics. It’s not really all about football. Academics are obviously very important, and tournaments like this give them an opportunity to be seen and to open doors beyond the game.’
The first final
The semi-finals will see FH Odendaal face Norkem Park, while Curro Hillcrest take on Pretoria High School for Girls, with both winners advancing to the tournament’s historic first girls’ final.
‘I am proud that Curro is the organisation that said: girls deserve a national stage too,’ Lategan said. The Curro Halala Cup final takes place today at HeronBridge College, where the tournament’s first-ever girls’ champions will be crowned.