Mmegi

Galaxy find GU’s kryptonite in six-year football war

Contrasting fortunes: Galaxy players celebrating with their fans PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO
Contrasting fortunes: Galaxy players celebrating with their fans PIC: MORERI SEJAKGOMO

For six years, Jwaneng Galaxy and Gaborone United (GU) have turned the local football into their private battlefield, trading trophies, blows and bragging rights.

But whilst the Reds, as GU are called, have found ways to conquer their rivals in the league, Galaxy Stars appear to have discovered their kryptonite when knockout football comes calling. The Jwaneng outfit delivered another crushing blow to GU's cup ambitions on Saturday, edging their rivals 1-0 in the African Hero Top 8 semi-final at the National Stadium to book a final date with Mochudi Centre Chiefs. Forward Kgotso Radithongwa's 18th-minute strike settled the contest, extending Galaxy's recent knockout dominance over the Reds and adding another chapter to a rivalry that has increasingly defined the domestic football landscape. The two clubs have emerged as the dominant forces of local football's post-COVID-19 era, tightening their grip on domestic silverware whilst traditional giants have struggled to break their stranglehold. Since league football resumed in the 2021–2022 season, Galaxy and GU have shared all five completed Premiership championships. GU claimed the crown in 2022 before Galaxy responded with back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024.

The Reds subsequently reclaimed the championship in 2025 and successfully defended it in 2026. Their dominance has extended into the Orange FA Cup, where GU completed a remarkable three-title streak in 2023 before Galaxy followed with three consecutive triumphs between 2024 and 2026.

Editor's Comment
The State apparatus must be sanitised

When the State cannot rely on its own machinery to pursue suspected wrongdoing, repairing that machinery must become a national priority.The establishment of a Special Investigations and Asset Recovery Task Force may help government respond to the immediate challenge. However, Botswana cannot afford to leave the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) struggling whilst building...

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