PIC: Durban City won their maiden Nedbank Cup title

Durban City defeated TS Galaxy 2-1 in the final of the 2026 Nedbank Cup at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane to bring down the curtain on another thrilling season of South Africa’s most prestigious knockout competition.

We round up the numbers on this year’s campaign.

1 – Durban City’s Jean Lwamba is the only player ever to score at both ends in a Nedbank Cup final. His own goal put TS Galaxy ahead in the first half, but he made up for that error with the winner for City.

1 – Durban City interim coach Pitso Dladla won the first major trophy of his career. He will hope it is the first of many.

1 – This was a first Nedbank Cup trophy win for Durban City after they lost the 2018 final to Free State Stars while still campaigning as Maritzburg United. This is, in fact, the first major trophy in the club’s history.

1 – Durban City’s final win means they will compete in the CAF Confederation Cup next season. It will be their first ever foray into African club football and a big step forward for the club.

1 – Durban City are the first ever KwaZulu-Natal club to lift the Nedbank Cup trophy, or any of the previous versions of the competition before 2008. They have broken a long-held hoodoo in this competition that went back 55 years.

3 – The biggest victories in this year’s Nedbank Cup were all by three-goal margins: CR Vasco da Gama 4-1 Luthuli Brigades (Last 32); TTM 1-4 Orlando Pirates (Last 32); Army Rocket 0-3 Casric Stars (Last 32); Lamontville Golden Arrows 3-0 Orbit College (Last 32); and Milford FC 3-0 Mkhambathi (Last 16).

3 – Jean Lwamba’s own goal was a third in the Nedbank Cup final since 2008, but on each occasion the scorer’s team has gone on to lift the trophy. Rooi Mahamutsa (Orlando Pirates, 2011) and Clayton Daniels (SuperSport United, 2016) were the others.

3 – Goalkeepers Darren Keet (Durban City) and Ira Tape (TS Galaxy) both kept three clean sheets in the 2026 Nedbank Cup, the most of any glovemen.

5 – This was the fifth year in a row that the Nedbank Cup final has finished with a 2-1 scoreline. The four finals before that all ended 1-0.

5 – This was only the fifth Nedbank Cup final since 2008 that did not feature one of Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates or Mamelodi Sundowns. The others were in 2009, as Moroka Swallows beat University of Pretoria; 2010, when BidVest Wits defeated AmaZulu; 2018, as Free State Stars edged Maritzburg United; and 2021, when Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila, now Marumo Gallants, defeated Chippa United.

6 – The most goals scored in a single Nedbank Cup game this season was six: FC Cardinals 2-4 Jacksa Spears (Last 32) and Siwelele 3-3 Richards Bay (Last 32).

7 – TS Galaxy and second-tier Milford FC, who reached the semi-finals, were the leading scorers in this year’s Nedbank Cup with seven goals each.

8 – Eight players finished joint top of the scorers’ charts this season with two goals: TJ Diedericks (CR Vasco da Gama), Pule Ekstein (AmaZulu), Victor Letsoalo (TS Galaxy), Lundi Mahala (Richards Bay), Moeti Mofokeng (Jacksa Spears), Thuso Mogale (Casric Stars), Bradley Mojela (Sekhukhune United) and Siphosethu Ndlabi (Milford).

9 – This year’s final was the ninth time in 19 deciders that both teams have found the back of the net.

10 – A penalty shoot-out was needed to settle a tie 10 times in this year’s Nedbank Cup, which is a record, beating the nine occasions in 2021. Fourteen ties this season went to extra time, which is also a record.

60 – There were 60 different goalscorers in the Nedbank Cup this season to go with three own goals from Jean Lwamba (Durban City), Sphamandla Mlilo (Casric Stars) and Thabani Zuke (Richards Bay).

72 – There were 72 goals scored in 31 games in the 2026 edition, 19 fewer than in 2025. That is an average of 2.32 goals per game, which is healthy compared to other South African competitions.