The 2021 edition of the FNB Varsity Shield will take place in a secure bio-bubble in Tshwane from 12 April to 9 May, with Tuks Stadium, the Tuks B-field and Loftus Versfeld Stadium hosting matches.
The FNB Varsity Shield will be held across two bio-bubbles. The first four rounds of the league stage will be in the first bubble, followed by the last three rounds of the league stage and the final in the second bubble.
There will be no FNB Varsity Shield semi-finals this year, with the top two teams on the log qualifying for the final at Tuks Stadium on 9 May.
While the FNB Madibaz have been promoted to the FNB Varsity Cup and no FNB Varsity Cup team was relegated last year, there will still be seven teams in this year’s Shield after University Sports South Africa (USSA) nominated Durban University of Technology (DUT) to join the tournament.
FNB DUT will make their debut against FNB WSU in the first match of the FNB Varsity Shield at Loftus Versfeld on 12 April.
There will be no promotion or relegation after the 2021 season. Instead, the bottom two teams on the combined 2021-2022 FNB Varsity Cup log will be relegated to the FNB Varsity Shield, while the last-placed team on the combined 2021-2022 FNB Varsity Shield log will fall out of the tournament. From the 2023 season onwards, there will be eight teams in the Cup and eight in the Shield.