Orlando Pirates will look to get their hands on another piece of silverware this season when they face Sekhukhune United in the 2023 Nedbank Cup final. Here are 10 facts you might not have known about the competition.
The 2023 Nedbank Cup final is set to be played at Loftus Versveld on Saturday evening at 18:00. The tie will give Jose Riveiro and his charges the chance to add to the MTN8 title they won in November against AmaZulu.
And with Champions League football already secured for next season, a win here will gill the Sea Robbers a heap of confidence heading into the 2023/24 season.
Sekhukhune, meanwhile, will look to bag their first-ever major trophy. They’re a squad of battlers and Brandon Truter will have them zeroed in after claiming a top-eight league finish.
Here are 10 facts about the competition that you not have known, or even forgotten about since its inception as the BP Top 8 in the 1972.
- Kaizer Chiefs’ 13 are the most titles in the history of the Nedbank Cup, having reached 18 finals. Their first title was in 1971, but another has not followed since 2013.
- Orlando Pirates won the Nedbank Cup title three consecutive times from 1973 to 1975. Kaizer Chiefs did the same in the early 1980s. No team has managed three successive titles since.
- SuperSport United won the Nedbank Cup final twice in a row from 2016 to 2017. Santos also won the Nedbank Cup title in consecutive seasons in the early 2000s.
- Stuart Baxter is the coach with the most Nedbank Cup titles. He has three – one with Kaizer Chiefs and two with SuperSport United.
- The Nedbank Cup title has been awarded 42 times. Orlando Pirates have the second-most titles with eight. Mamelodi Sundowns have six and SuperSport United five.
- The Nedbank Cup title has been won by 13 teams, including once each for Free State Stars, Bloemfontein Celtic, Tshakhuma and TS Galaxy.
- The tournament has undergone several name changes, from the Life Challenge Cup through the early 1970s to the Bob Save Super Bowl throughout the 1990s.
- The Nedbank Cup has been called the Benson and Hedges Trophy, Mainstay Cup and ABSA Cup. It became the Nedbank Cup in 2008.
- Jomo Cosmos reached five Nedbank Cup finals between 1986 and 1996, but only won one. The first and only title came in 1990 after victory over AmaZulu.
- AmaZulu have never won the Nedbank Cup title despite six final appearances. Marumo Gallants and Chippa United are among Premier Soccer League teams who have not won the Nedbank Cup.
