With four games remaining in the GladAfrica Championship, the race for promotion to the DStv Premiership is heating up. Richards Bay and the University of Pretoria are leading the charge for automatic promotion, with Venda Football Academy, Cape Town All Stars and JDR Stars also in the mix. We look at who eventually might clinch the automatic promotion spot as we assess the contenders.

Richards Bay (1st ) 

To play

Hungry Lions, April 23 (home)

Uthongathi, April 29 (home)

TS Sporting, May 8 (away)

Cape Town Spurs, May 15 (home)

Experience and the disappointment of falling short in the promotion playoffs last season will help Richards Bay in the last four games. Last season they looked on course for automatic promotion but they dropped the ball in the latter stages. Head coach Pitso Dladla has garnered sufficient experience and what makes their goal look feasible is their seemingly easy run-in, where they will be playing teams in the bottom half of the table.

University of Pretoria (2nd) 

To play 

JDR Stars, April 22 (home)

Venda Football Academy, April 30 (home)

Cape Town Spurs, May 8 (away)

Hungry Lions, May 15 (home)

For coach Tlisane Motaung, leading the University of Pretoria is sort of a full-circle moment, having been a student at the university and then moving up the ranks to become head coach. He’s on a mission to lead his side to the first tier of SA football for the first time since the 2015-16 season. University of Pretoria's remaining fixtures will not be easy as they face direct rivals JDR Stars and the defensively stubborn Venda Football Academy.

Venda Football Academy (3rd )

To play 

TS Sporting, April 23 (home)

University of Pretoria, April 30 (away)

Black Leopards, May 8 (away)

Free State Stars, May 15 (home)

If the Venda Football Academy are to make it to the DStv Premiership, much credit has to be given to the Thohoyandou Stadium.  Jonny Ferreira has made sure that their home ground is a fortress, having only lost one match there this season. They have collected 22 points at home. Their run-in includes three games at the Limpopo venue. They will be confident heading to the closing stages of the season. 

Cape Town All Stars (4th)

To play

Pretoria Callies, April 23 (away)

TTM, April 29 (home)

Hungry Lions, May 8 (home)

JDR Stars, May 15 (home)

Inconsistency in their last five matches has seen Allan Freese's side lose touch with Richards Bay and AmaTuks. Nonetheless, they are still in contention. They need to string together a run of victories to unseat the teams above them. Having Freese in the dugout makes All Stars dangerous. He's a proven winner and he’ll hope his experience propels them to promotion.

JDR Stars (5th)

To play

University of Pretoria, April 22 (away)

Hungry Lions, May 1 (away)

Pretoria Callies, May 8 (home)

CT All Stars, May 15 (away)

The Pretoria-based outfit has managed to gradually improve with every season they have played so far in the second tier, finishing seventh in the first and sixth in the second. Now they are challenging for automatic promotion. Their bid was, however, derailed by three draws on the spin. They will hope to resurrect their hopes of promotion when they meet AmaTuks.