Kruger United

Kruger United open their first season in the Premier Soccer League after winning the National First Division in 2025/26, the reward for a climb through three divisions since the club was formed. Mpumalanga's newest top-flight side now finds out how far that momentum carries against established opposition.

The club was founded in 2023 by businessmen Bongani Wati and Basil Khoza, who bought the status of Caroline FC in the SAFA Second Division rather than build a side from scratch — a shortcut that put Kruger United straight into third-tier football. The name honours the Kruger Local Football Association, which covers the Bushbuckridge area, and the national park next door.

Kruger United won their regional stream in that first season, then lost the ABC Motsepe League national playoff final 0-2 to Highbury FC in 2024 — a defeat that still carried them into the National First Division on the group's overall placing. Vusi Mkhatshwa coached them to that promotion; Abraham Mongoya took over the following season and won the division outright.

Winger Khethukuthula Ndlovu finished as the club's top scorer in that title-winning campaign, while midfielder Nkosinathi Twala was rated their standout performer the season after, in a squad that also draws on players from Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Benin and Ivory Coast.

Home matches are played at KaNyamazane Stadium in Bushbuckridge, a 15,000-seat ground that some databases still mix up with Mbombela Stadium down the road.