Stellenbosch FC celebrate 300 league matches after rapid rise to CAF semi-finals

Stellenbosch FC have marked the 300th league match in their history, completing the milestone during a dramatic 3-3 draw with Polokwane City as the Western Cape club’s rapid rise continued.

The landmark figure covers matches played in the Premiership, the National First Division (NFD) and promotion-relegation play-offs. Across those fixtures, Stellenbosch have recorded 111 wins, 100 draws and 89 defeats.

The club’s progress has been particularly notable since its first season in the NFD. Between 2016/17 and 2018/19, Stellenbosch played 90 regular-season matches in the second tier before securing promotion to the top flight.

They have since established themselves in the Premiership, featuring in 208 regular-season matches between 2019/20 and 2025/26.

The overall breakdown also includes two promotion-relegation play-off matches in 2017, taking the number of regular-season fixtures to 298. The recorded play-off results listed for that period include a 2-2 draw and a 2-0 defeat against Baroka, as well as a 0-0 draw and a 3-1 defeat by Black Leopards.

Stellenbosch’s rise has been closely linked to the work of former manager Steve Barker, who led the club through much of its transformation before leaving in December 2025.

Barker oversaw 252 matches and finished his time in charge with 91 victories, 85 draws and 76 defeats. His most significant achievement came in the 2018/19 campaign, when Stellenbosch won the NFD title with a record of 16 wins, eight draws and six losses.

He also guided the club through six successive seasons in the Premiership, helping lay the foundations for its continued presence among South Africa’s top-flight teams.

Following Barker’s departure, Gavin Hunt took charge for the club’s next 16 matches. Hunt helped Stellenbosch move clear of possible relegation trouble, recording six wins, seven draws and three defeats as the side finished ninth in the league.

The club’s development has not been limited to domestic competition. Stellenbosch have also become an established presence in African football, playing 22 CAF Confederation Cup matches across two separate campaigns.

Their first continental campaign, in 2024/25, produced a remarkable 14-match run that carried them through to the semi-finals. That run represented the club’s most significant achievement on the African stage to date.

Stellenbosch then added eight more CAF Confederation Cup fixtures in 2025/26. Those matches included preliminary-round victories over 15 de Agosto de Akonibe and six games in the group stage.

The 3-3 draw against Polokwane City therefore represented more than another addition to the club’s league record. It served as a marker of the distance Stellenbosch have travelled since their years in the NFD: from a second-tier side seeking promotion to a Premiership club with a growing domestic record and recent experience of reaching the latter stages of continental competition.