Bay United was a South African professional

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club based first in the city of

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

and later

Polokwane Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Provin ...

. It played in the Premiership and

National First Division The South African Championship, officially known as the Motsepe Foundation Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest league of South African football after the South African Premiership. Both the South African Championship and ...

. The club came into existence in 2006 when the franchise of struggling National First Division club

Maritzburg United Durban City are a South African soccer club based in the city of Durban. Prior to the start of the 2024–25 National First Division, they were called Maritzburg United, and were based in the city of Pietermaritzburg. They were promoted to t ...

was purchased and relocated to

. The club also purchased the

Vodacom League The SAFA Second Division (known as the ABC Motsepe League for sponsorship reasons, and previously the Vodacom League between 1998 and 2012, was founded in 1998 as the overall third tier of South African football. The competition is regulated by ...

franchise of the NMMU F.C. The club spent one season in the Premiership, and the other years of its existence in the

(NFD). Following the 2010–11 NFD season, the club's NFD franchise was moved to

Polokwane Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Provin ...

Limpopo Limpopo () is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a ...

. It played the 2011–12 season under the name Bay United. In 2012, it became

Polokwane City Polokwane City Football Club is a South African professional football club based in the city of Polokwane in the Limpopo province that currently plays in the first tier South African Premiership. The team plays its home matches at the Peter Mok ...

. The

team became Bay Stars.

Ownership

The club was owned by Volkswagen South Africa during the 2006–07 NFD season. After the 2006–07 season Sipho Pityana purchased the club through his company, Izingwe Holdings and VW became the team's main sponsor. The club's future was unknown during the 2010 off season as owner Sipho Pityana had said that the club would cease conducting business, while attempting to sell the club. The main reason given for selling the club were, a lack of funds, stemming from the teams demotion from the Premiership at the end of the 2008–09 season. The reduction in income due to playing in the NFD, as well as a fine for releasing players seem to be the main causes for the club's problems. Pityana had said that he would however be willing to sell the club, should a buyer come forward. The league franchise was eventually sold to Striving Mind Trading 522 CC, a

based company, headed by Julia Mogaladi. She is the niece of John Mogaladi, chairman of the Limpopo-based football club, Winners Park. They announced that the team would be moved to Limpopo, but it remained in Port Elizabeth for the 2010–11 season. In August 2012, the

Premier Soccer League The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is the administrative body for professional soccer leagues and cups in South Africa. It is based in Johannesburg, and was founded in 1996 following an agreement between the National Soccer League and the remnant ...

approved of the renaming of the franchise to

Home stadium

When the club was first formed, it played its matches at the Wolfson Stadium, in KwaZakhele,

. Following the 2007–08 NFD season, and the club's promotion to the Premiership, the stadium was deemed below league standards. The team then moved its home matches to the

EPRU Stadium EPRU Stadium, also known by its original name of Boet Erasmus Stadium, was a stadium in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The letters "EPRU" in the name represent the Eastern Province Rugby Union, the stadium's historic primary tenants, whose tea ...

in Port Elizabeth for the 2008–09 season. The team shared the stadium with Eastern Province rugby team. During the season, the team also hosted some matches at

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

Buffalo City Stadium Buffalo City Stadium (also known as the BCM Stadium) is a multi-use stadium in East London, South Africa. It is currently used mostly for Rugby Union matches and is the home stadium of Border Bulldogs. The stadium holds 16,000 people. The sta ...

. The team was relegated at the end of the 2008–09 Premiership season, and then moved its home matches to the smaller Westbourne Oval. During the 2009–10 National First Division season, the team experienced scheduling issues, and was forced to also host matches at NMMU's Xerox Stadium, and the EPRU Stadium. During the

2010–11 National First Division season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

the team began by hosting its matches at the Westbourne Oval, but later shifted to hosting its matches at the

Gelvandale Stadium Gelvandale Stadium is a multi-use stadium located in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The stadium is equipped with an athletics track, football pitch and floodlights. It is currently used mostly as a community sports ground, and by local amateur fo ...

. The youth team played its home matches at the NU2 Stadium. After moving to Limpopo, the club played at

Old Peter Mokaba Stadium Old Peter Mokaba Stadium (previously Pietersburg Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Polokwane (formerly Pietersburg), South Africa. It was the home stadium of Ria Stars football club before they were disbanded. The stadium can host 15,000 ...

University of Limpopo The University of Limpopo () is a public university in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2005, by merger of the University of the North and the Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA). These previous institution ...

Stadium and

Seshego Stadium Seshego Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Seshego, Limpopo, South Africa. It is currently used mostly for soccer matches and is the home venue of Magesi and Copperbelt Ladies. The stadium was reopened on 8 February 2025 with the first PSL match ...

Polokwane Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Provin ...

Honours

*First Division promotion/Premier League relegation Play-offs: 1 **2007–08

Club records

*Premier Soccer League: : 2008–09 – 16th *National First Division: : 2006–07 – 13th : 2007–08 – 2nd (Coastal Stream) (promoted through play-offs) : 2009–10 – 3rd (Coastal Stream) :

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

– 1st (Coastal Stream) : 2011–12 – 10th (

playing under the Bay United name) *Nedbank Cup: :

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

– Round of 32 :

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

– NFD Qualification Round :

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

– Round of 16 :

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

– NFD Qualification Round :

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

– NFD Qualification Round :

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

– Round of 32 (

playing under the Bay United name) *Telkom Knockout: :

– Quarter-Finals *Baymed Cup: :

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

– Round of 16

Sponsorship

The team's main sponsor was Volkswagen South Africa, who had previously owned the club. The team was also sponsored by Aberdare Cables. Puma was the team's technical sponsor.

Former coaches

* Vladislav Heric: 2006 – 2008 * Pernell McKop: 2008 * Khabo Zondo: 2008 – 2009 * Eddie Dyaloyi: 2009 * David Bright: 2009 – 2012 * Caretaker coach

References

External links

Bay United Official WebsitePremier Soccer LeagueNFD Club Info
{{Premier Soccer League Association football clubs established in 2006 National First Division clubs Soccer clubs in Gqeberha Soccer clubs in Limpopo Premier Soccer League clubs 2006 establishments in South Africa 2012 disestablishments in South Africa Polokwane