TS Galaxy to face Bundesliga side in an annual tournament

Owner and Chairman of the DStv Premiership club, TS Galaxy, Tim Sukazi says FC Augsburg will be part of the festivities in a new competition called the Mpumalanga Premier’s International Tournament, scheduled to take place at the Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga.

While the initial arrangement for the tournament is between the two clubs, talks are ongoing to make this a four-team event over two weekends – and this will include a second South African team and another European opposition.

Sukazi made the announcement at the Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday.

"We are here today for the announcement of the inaugural Mpumalanga Premier's International Tournament 2024. It's a tournament that will see TS Galaxy locking horns with FC Augsburg which is a German Bundesliga club,” Sukazi said.

“While the main launch is TS Galaxy and FC Augsburg but we intend to have it as a four-team tournament and in that end we are in talks with some of our sister clubs in South Africa but in our ideal world we'll have a second European club, so we can have two South African clubs and a European club."

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Sukazi adds that they could have chosen many other teams to come and be part of the tournament, but they went for the German Bundesliga club because of similarities between the two sides.

"We looked carefully at our potential partners for this event and we saw in the German Bundesliga that there's one club that bares the same similarities as TS Galaxy football club,” he added.

“So, it's a club that really came into prominence after having to illustrate its mettle for a number of years. It's a club that is also young if you know the number of years of other clubs in the German Bundesliga and it's a club that really has been punching also like us above their weight successfully so.

“So, if you look at them this season, you'll know that had they not lost the plot by losing four matches consecutively this season, probably they could have qualified for the European Championship. It's a similar situation to us, we missed the African [CAF] Confederation Cup with just one goal."