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| Full name | Bidvest Wits Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | The Clever Boys, The Students | ||
| Founded | 1921; 104 years ago (1921) | ||
| Dissolved | 2020; 5 years ago (2020) | ||
| Ground | Bidvest Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 5,000 | ||
| Coach | Gavin Hunt (last coach) | ||
| League | Premiership | ||
| 2019–20 | 4th | ||
Bidvest Wits Football Club, (simply often known asWits University F.C. orWits) was a South African professionalfootball club fromJohannesburg which played in thePremiership the first-tier of South African league football system. It was nicknamed "The Clever Boys" or "The Students" because of the close affiliation with theUniversity of the Witwatersrand.
The club was sold at the conclusion of the2019–20 Premiership season.[1] This after Bidvest confirmed that it had reached an agreement for the sale of the club's top-flight status toTshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM).[2][3]
The club has its roots at Wits University in Johannesburg, where it was formed in 1921 by the university's Students Representatives Council. The club competed in a variety of tournaments and leagues before eventually winning promotion to theNational Football League in 1975 – then South Africa's top domestic league.
During the 1970s the club produced some of South Africa's finest players – amongst themgoalkeeperGary Bailey, who went on to play forManchester United andEngland and defenderRichard Gough, who later played forDundee United,Rangers,Everton andScotland.
The club won their first major title in 1978 – winning theMainstay Cup after beatingKaizer Chiefs in the final of the competition. Six years later they picked up theBP Top 8, and a year later in 1985 they again beat Chiefs, this time in the final of theJPS Knockout Cup. The club finished 6th in the inauguralNSL season in 1985 while Scottish strikerFrank McGrellis was crowned the league's top scorer with a total of 29 league and cup goals.
The 1990s saw mixed fortunes for the team. They won two trophies, theBP Top 8 and theCoca-Cola Cup in 1995 under coachJohn Lathan. But a year later they dropped dangerously close to being relegated from the newly formed Premiership – only surviving thanks to a spirited win on the final day of the season againstJomo Cosmos.
Mid-table finishes followed in 1997 and 1998 before the club finished sixth in 1999–00 – helped largely by the inspirational form of centre backPeter Gordon, who played over 400 times for the club and won caps forBafana Bafana (the South African National Team), andSam Magalefa who finished as the club's top goalscorer.
In 2000–01 the club finished a disappointing 13th under new Scottish coachJim Bone. A year later former Bafana Bafana goalkeeperRoger De Sa was appointed head coach, and he immediately restored order with the club finishing 7th in the PSL in 2002, thanks to a 3–1 victory on the final day of the season overOrlando Pirates.
Under De Sa's reign things appeared to be looking up for Wits, with the club securing third-placed finishes in the PSL in 2003 and again in 2004. But in 2005 things took a turn for the worse, as De Sa's ultra-defensive tactics, coupled with a mass player exodus at the start of the season, saw the side score just 24 goals in 30 league matches to finish bottom of the league.
At the start of the 2005–06 season, formerSantos Cape Town andMaritzburg United coachBoebie Solomons was appointed as head coach, and Solomons' first season in charge brought a return to the PSL for the Clever Boys, with the club comfortably winning the Mvela Golden League (the second tier of South African football) after starting the season with six successive victories.
In June 2007 Roger De Sa rejoined the club after a two-year absence. He replaced caretakerEric Tinkler who succeeded Boebie Solomons during the 2006–07 season.
In 2010 Wits managed to win theNedbank Cup defeatingAmaZulu in the final.[4]
2014–2017 were the most successful years in Wit's history. They finished in the top 3 in thePremiership for four consecutive years, and the2016–17 season saw Wits win their first Premiership title. Wits finished the season with 18 wins, 6 draws and 6 losses, and won the league by three points in a tightly contested season.[5] They also won the2016 MTN 8 (beating 2016 CAF Champions League winnersMamelodi Sundowns)[6] and the2017 Telkom Knockout.[7]
Mike Kenning
Julie KaplanEddie Lewis (1974–79)
Joe Frickleton (1986)Terry Paine (1987–88) John LathanJim Bone (2000–01)Roger De Sa (2001–05)Boebie Solomons (1 July 2005 – 10 March 2007)Roger De Sa (1 July 2007 – 9 July 2012)
Antonio López Habas (12 July 2012 – 4 Jan 2013)Clive Barker (7 Jan 2013 – 28 May 2013)Gavin Hunt (28 May 2013 – 5 September 2020)Peter Gordon 415Peter Gordon 55
Charles Yohane 268 (1997–2006)Andy Geddes 46 (1986)Frank McGrellis 29 (1985)Source:[8]
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