Midlands Wanderers

Vincent Myeni built Midlands Wanderers from an academy, not a boardroom decision. For years the club sat in the lower reaches of South African football, playing in the SAFA Second Division's KwaZulu-Natal Stream B before working its way into contention further up the same tier.

The breakthrough came in the 2024–25 season, when the Wanderers won the SAFA Second Division KwaZulu-Natal Stream A, then beat Mkhambathi in the provincial playoffs to reach the national ABC Motsepe Cup playoffs. A third-place finish there was enough to send Pietermaritzburg into the National First Division for 2025–26 — the club's first taste of national football.

Golden Arrows signed six graduates in one go, among them Ntandoyenkosa "Beast" Mabaso and Sboniso "Mancu" Madonsela, while goalkeeper Bayanda Zulu had already left for a pre-season camp with Orlando Pirates in Spain. Jabulani Mokone has since returned the other way, on loan from Orlando Pirates.

Off the pitch, 2026 brought a dispute with the Msunduzi Municipality over fees and upkeep at the Harry Gwala Stadium, forcing several home fixtures to be shifted to Durban even as the 12,000-seat ground in Pietermaritzburg stayed the club's official base. Locally, nothing matches the derby against Maritzburg United, the other club rooted in the Msunduzi area.

The nickname, Abafana Bebatha — the boys in blue — still points back to the academy sides Myeni first put out in the lower divisions.