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 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

club based first in the city of

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often 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 Municipality, S ...

and later

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

. It played in the

South African Premier Division The South African Premier Division, officially referred to as the DStv Premiership for sponsorship purposes, is the premier men's professional football/soccer league and the highest division in the league system of South Africa, organized sinc ...

and

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

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

Maritzburg United Maritzburg United is a South African football club based in the city of Pietermaritzburg that currently plays in the Premier Soccer League. Honours *First Division Coastal Stream champions: 2007–08 *First Division Championship Play-offs: 20 ...

was purchased and relocated to

. The club also purchased the

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

franchise of the NMMU F.C. The club spent one season in the

Premier Soccer League Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

, and the other years of its existence in the National First Division. 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 Provinc ...

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

. 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 second tier National First Division. The team currently plays its home matches at the ...

. 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

PSL PSL may refer to: Sport *Pakistan Super League, a Twenty20 cricket league in Pakistan *Philippine Super Liga, professional volleyball league in the Philippines *Pilipinas Super League, a professional basketball league in the Philippines * Philipp ...

at the end of the 2008/2009 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 Winners Park is a football (soccer) club based in Mookgopong, which is a town roughly 100 km southwest of Polokwane on the N1 road (South Africa), N1 and R101 road (South Africa), R101 roads, situated inside the Limpopo province of South Afri ...

. 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

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

, 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 team i ...

in Port Elizabeth for the

2008–09 Premier Soccer League The 2008–09 Premier Soccer League season (known as the ABSA Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the thirteenth since its establishment. Supersport United were the defending champions, having won their first Premier Soccer League title on t ...

. The team shared the stadium with Eastern Province rugby team. During the season, the team also hosted some matches at

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

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 stad ...

. The team was relegated at the end of the 2008–09 PSL 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 representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

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 foo ...

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

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

Stadium and Seshego Stadiumin

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

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 representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

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

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

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

– Round of 32 :

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

– NFD Qualification Round :

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

– Round of 16 :

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

– NFD Qualification Round : 2011 – NFD Qualification Round :

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

– Round of 32 (

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

– Quarter-Finals *Baymed Cup: : 2006 – Round of 16

Sponsorship

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

Former coaches

* Vladislav Heric: 2006 – 2008 * Pernell McKop: 2008 *

Khabo Zondo John Khabonina Zondo (born 24 December 1961) is a South African association football coach. He managed Royal Eagles from 2015 to 2016, and Royal AM from 2022. His previous clubs include Bloemfontein Celtic, Golden Arrows and Classic FC. He al ...

: 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 Port Elizabeth Soccer clubs in Limpopo Premier Soccer League clubs 2006 establishments in South Africa 2012 disestablishments in South Africa Polokwane