Stage set for Standard Chartered Cup
Calistus Kolantsho | Thursday October 24, 2024 12:22
The tournament is expected to attract around 23 Five-a-side football teams. The winners will take a trip to Anfield, the home of Liverpool Football Club. Last year the trip was won by the Debswana team, after surviving a scare from BDF-Dikwata SACCOS. At the time, 24 teams battled it out for a chance to stamp their passports. Debswana emerged victorious and had a chance to visit Anfield, train with Liverpool players and share a moment with Liverpool legends. Speaking during the 2024 edition launch, Debswana team representative, Tshwaragano Mosothwane, said being part of the SC Cup last year was incredible, but the icing on the cake was the trip to Anfield. The team travelled to Liverpool in January 2024. He said the trip to Liverpool started at Molapo Crossing where they had a team that was competing in the tournament. He said they worked hard to gel as a team, although they lost the first game, they told themselves that they will win the next match. Mosothwane said after winning the second game, they started counting the number of wins needed to win the tournament and travel to Liverpool.
“The energy, the passion and the memories we made is something I will cherish forever. We had a chance to spend time with Liverpool legend, John Aldo Aldridge. I was star struck that I could not believe that I was next to him. I urge all the participating teams to give their all. The Liverpool that you will see at Anfield is not the same Liverpool you see on television,” he said. Mosothwane said on the day of the match, the experience was amazing, the hotel was red, the streets of Liverpool were red and the stadium was packed. Standard Chartered chief technology and operations officer, Molefe Petros, said there is a reason why football is the most popular sport on the planet. He explained that it is about building camaraderie and bringing communities together from far corners of the world, regardless of any differences. “Our global partnership with the Liverpool Football Club allows us, as Standard Chartered, to illustrate this action of bringing people together for an experience of a lifetime at one of the greatest football institutions of all time,” Petros said.