PIC: Thulani Dhladhla of Free Agents (left) and Brandon Petersen of Kaizer Chiefs during the 2025 Nedbank Cup Last 32 draw

Free Agents FC from the Gauteng ABC Motsepe League have been gifted the chance to create history and rise to national fame when they face Kaizer Chiefs in the Last 32 of the 2025 Nedbank Cup.
Theirs is a tasty tie that will put them at the forefront of local football, for 90 minutes at least, as fans across the country tune in to see if they can become the eighth lower league side to knock the AmaKhosi out of South Africa’s premier cup competition.
But while much of the attention will be on Free Agents, there are seven other teams from the SAFA structures who also dream of a Last 16 place, and to make a name for themselves in the Nedbank Cup.
Sibanye Golden Stars from the Free State ABC Motsepe League travel to Pretoria to face Mamelodi Sundowns, while third-tier The Bees from Mpumalanga tackle in-form topflight side Polokwane City.
Mighty Eagles from the Eastern Cape, also a third-tier side, go up the coast to KwaZulu-Natal to do battle with AmaZulu in another David vs Goliath clash. 

North West ABC Motsepe League outfit Lerumo Lions host second-tier Durban City (formerly Maritzburg United), while KZN ABC Motsepe League club Umvoti host Baroka FC, who were a third tier side themselves when they made it all the way to the semifinals in 2011, beating Moroka Swallows and Kaizer Chiefs along the way to become household names.  
In another battle between the third and second tiers, Limpopo side Mpheni Home Defenders host Hungry Lions.
But for Free Agents, a clash with the Glamour Boys of Chiefs is as good as it gets, according to coach Dinoleo Abdeziet.
“This is football and we use the same ball and number of players,” Abdeziet said. “There is no star player, no big team, as you have seen in the past. That is why part of the slogan of the Nedbank Cup is 'David vs Goliath', and many times in the past the David has stayed the Goliath. So we are not intimidated.

"We know ourselves and the type of football we are playing. We know what our players are capable of.

"We have played a lot of friendlies against professional clubs from the PSL and NFD, we know our capabilities and where we stand as a team. There is no fear of conceding a lot of goals. We trust the boys.

“But in saying that, we'll give them the necessary respect. We'll give it our best shot, against this great club and institution that is Kaizer Chiefs.”

Free Agents may fancy their chances as no club has been ousted from the Nedbank Cup by lower league teams more often than Chiefs. Their seven previous defeats is a record in the competition and a sign of how minnow clubs raise their game against the AmaKhosi.
The record for the greatest number of SAFA teams into the Nedbank Cup Last 16 is four, which has happened on two occasions.

In 2022, Summerfield Dynamos defeated second-tier Uthongathi, while Sinenkani FC ousted 2018 winners Free State Stars.
The other two third-tier sides into the Last 16 earned their spot with wins over clubs from the same level as Black Eagles edged FC Sivutsa and Mathaithai won away at NC Pros.
That matched the record number set in 2020 when four teams from the amateur ranks also advanced from the Last 32 – Hungry Lions, who have since become a second-tier club, Happy Wanderers, Vaal University of Technology (VUT) and Amavarara.
VUT made history as they became the first fourth-tier side to oust a topflight team in the Nedbank Cup as they edged Lamontville Golden Arrows on penalties following a 2-2 draw. They were beaten 2-0 by Sundowns in the next round.
It used to be a case that professional teams would fancy themselves to brush aside teams from the SAFA structures, but that is certainly no longer the case, and the number of shocks are growing.
Certainly gone are the days when we saw the likes of Sundowns’ 24-0 win over Powerlines FC in 2012, or Ajax Cape Town’s 9-1 victory against Mainstay United in 2015. 

Those sorts of blowout results are unlikely to happen again, such has been the steady increase in the standard set at amateur level.
At least one amateur team has reached the Last 16 in every year the Nedbank Cup has been played, bar 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic meant football was stopped at that level and so no teams entered.
The recent improvement says much about the level of players and coaching in the ABC Motsepe League, which is clearly closing and starting to catch up on the professional ranks. 
Of the 28 third or fourth-tier sides to reach the second round since 2008, there have been no repeat performances while they were still in the amateur ranks.
Baroka FC famously did it in 2011 but they did not return to the Last 16 stage until they were in the second-tier.
The same goes for the likes of Maluti FET College, who would appear again in the Last 16 two years after they stunned Orlando Pirates 4-1. But by then they were also a second-tier club.     

SAFA TEAMS TO REACH THE NEDBANK CUP LAST 16

2024: 2 – Ravens FC, D’General
2023: 2 – Dondol Stars, Mpheni Home Defenders
2022: 4 – Summerfield Dynamos, Sinenkani FC, Mathaithai, Black Eagles
2021: 0*
2020: 4 – Hungry Lions, Happy Wanderers, Vaal University of Technology, Amavarara
2019: 1 – The Magic
2018: 2 – EC Bees, Steenberg United
2017: 2 – Acornbush United, Kwadukuza United
2016: 1 – Magesi FC
2015: 1 – Natal United
2014: 1 – Buffalo FC
2013: 2 – Tembu Royals, Maluti FET College
2012: 1 – Roses United
2011: 2 – BTX Liverpool, Baroka FC
2010: 1 – ALS Puk Tawana
2009: 1 – Peace Lovers
2008: 1 – Matatiele Professionals
* There were no teams from the SAFA structures in the competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic.