The first draw of the 19th edition of the Coca Cola Cup was held on Wednesday 18th at Lekedi Football Center and will see teams from the lower divisions sweating it out from the first week of December.
The second phase of the matches will be held on the last weekend of December.
The Vice President (technical) of the Botswana Football Association, Dintle Mphele, has applauded Coca Cola for its unfaltering support of local football, commending it for bringing the World Cup Trophy to Botswana just three weeks ago.
“Our relationship goes a long way and has borne fruit so far,” he said, further adding that the P6.6 million that Coca Cola has sponsored the Cup for the three year contractual period will take local football to higher limits.
However this year’s Cup, which will run along with the premier league, has seen some new developments, as there has been some acceleration in its running period to give local football enthusiasts a chance to watch the 2010 World Cup tournament to be held in South Africa.
Kgalagadi Breweries Limited Marketing Manager, Ms. Mmabatho Dibe, said they have for the above reason “saw it fit to start early to make time for the World Cup.”
The Coca Cola Cup Organizing Committee chairman, Mr. Gaolathe Kelesitse, stated that to bring new excitement and flavour to the Cup they had brought some modifications such as subsidizing the traveling expenses of the teams.
The grand finale will be on the 24th of April 2010, just in time to break for the World Cup tournament. This year, as like last year, all the teams taking part will have some incentives to quench their thirst with. The bottom 16 teams will walk home with P6000 each while the next bottom 16 will get P8000. The next 16 will get P10 000 whilst the next eight will get P15 000.
The next four teams to fall before the semi final will be given P25 000, while the semi finalists themselves get P200 000.
The champion and the runner up team will get P500 000 and P200 000, respectively.
