Withdrawal of Builders World from sponsoring Kweneng District soccer teams has not demoralised, soccer-lovers in Mmopane village. A family by the name Kgachi and sons has popped out P10 000 to sponsor an Independent Cup tournament in the village. The same family purchased a floating trophy for the same event last year. Six teams are battling it out effective from Sunday 22nd September and the best team will go away with P2600 and a floating trophy. The runner-up pockets P2000, third position P1600 fourth position P1200 while the last positions go away with consolation prize of P700 each. The tournament’s fixtures show that there will be double headers in the two last weekends of September. On the 22nd ÔÇôPool A collides Sweet XI and Day Swallows in an encounter slotted for 1400 hrs. Eleven men and United Sporting Club will follow at 1600hrs as Pool B.
Saturday the 28th September Pool B will see collision of Eleven men with Dintoroko at 1400hrs.Pool A will later collide the cup’s defending champions, Green birds and Day Swallows at 1600 hrs. And on Sunday 29 September Pool A bumps defending champions, Green birds and Sweet XI. United Sporting Club and Dintoroko will follow at 1600hrs as Pool B. On Moday- the independence day- it will be semi-finals, at 1300hrs in which teams that got position two from the previous pools will be proving their prowess over each other. At 1530 teams that got position one from each pool will be slugging against each other in the finals. The founder of the event Moemedi Mokgachane revealed in an interview that the event is aimed at keeping the youth in the village during this festive season. He said during these holidays leagues are suspended and often players are tempted to go out and party, something that affect their performance. So this kind of tournament keeps them close to the field of play. He said, “The tournament is in its second year, and has attracted the village leadership and the youth. The youth are even planning to have a permanent committee that would run it so that funds can be raised and to even attract sponsors.” Mokgachane, who is also the Chairperson of Constituency League Coordinating Committee, said he felt challenged as a national leader to show what he could do to bring people together. He had been approached by several teams seeking financial support and he felt the best way would be to sponsor all of them through something they competed for. Kweneng district, he said is faced with serious challenge of lack of sponsorship for soccer.
