Bidvest Wits

Bidvest Wits Football Club, (simply often known as Wits University F.C. or Wits) was a South African professional football club which played in the Premier Soccer League the first-tier of South African league football system. It was nicknamed "The Clever Boys" or "The Students" because of the close affiliation with the University of the Witwatersrand.

The club was to sold at the conclusion of the 2019/20 Premier Soccer League season. This after Bidvest confirmed that it had reached an agreement for the sale of the club's top-flight status to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM).

History

The club has its roots at Wits University in Johannesburg, where it was formed in 1921 by the university's Students Representatives Council. The club competed in a variety of tournaments and leagues before eventually winning promotion to the National Football League in 1975 – then South Africa's top domestic league.

During the 1970s the club produced some of South Africa's finest players – amongst them goalkeeper Gary Bailey, who went on to play for Manchester United and England and defender Richard Gough, who later played for Dundee United, Rangers, Everton and Scotland.

The club won their first major title in 1978 – winning the Mainstay Cup after beating Kaizer Chiefs in the final of the competition. Six years later they picked up the BP Top 8, and a year later in 1985 they again beat Chiefs, this time in the final of the JPS Knockout Cup. The club finished 6th in the inaugural NSL season in 1985 while Scottish striker Frank McGrellis was crowned the league's top scorer with a total of 29 league and cup goals.

The 1990s saw mixed fortunes for the team. They won two trophies, the BP Top 8 and the Coca-Cola Cup in 1995 under coach John Lathan. But a year later they dropped dangerously close to being relegated from the newly formed Premier Soccer League – only surviving thanks to a spirited win on the final day of the season against Jomo Cosmos.

Mid-table finishes followed in 1997 a

This page also has a version in other languages :  Бидвест Витс (russian)