Shot in the arm for Mascom Top 8 losers

| Friday October 25, 2013 15:41

 

The increment was announced by Mascom Chief Executive Officer Jose Viera Couceiro at the launch of this year’s edition of the competition in Gaborone yesterday.

Teams that will crash out of the tournament in the quarter-finals will each pocket P150,000 which is P25,000 more than the last two editions.

The prize for the losers in the semi-finals has been increased by P50, 000 to P250, 000.  The prizes for the winners and runners-up remain the same at P1 million and P450,000 respectively. 

Gaborone United are the defending champions after defeating BDF XI in the final last season. Township Rollers won the first edition of the tournament two seasons ago.

Following an outcry over the way the tournament was run last year, the organising committee this year decided that teams will now enjoy home ground advantage.

Last year Nico United and ECCO City Greens had to play their home and away games at Molepolole Sports Complex. Both sides crashed out in the quarterfinals and many attributed their failure to the fact that their opponents had the advantage of playing both legs in front of their home supporters.

Nico United were defeated by GU while ECCO lost to Rollers. Both Nico United and ECCO are in this year’s tournament.

Nico take on Extension Gunners, while ECCO will lock horns with GU. BDF XI and BMC will meet again in this edition’s quarterfinals.  The two played against each other in the same stage last season. Mochudi Centre Chiefs will lock horns with rivals Township Rollers in the other quarterfinal match.

Couceiro is happy with the way the tournament has turned out so far. He said they were expecting to stage an even bigger event this season.

Botswana Premier League (BPL) chairperson Mokganedi Molefe encouraged the teams to up their game in appreciation to Mascom for bankrolling the tournament.

He expects Nico United and ECCO City Greens to attract a large number of supporters in Selebi-Phikwe and Francistown in their home games.

“Not many companies believed in us when we proposed this tournament but not Mascom,” Molefe said.

He said before they reached an agreement with Mascom, many companies raised uncertainties over whether the project was viable.

“Mascom came on board and have raised the stakes. The tourney will be more interesting this season because either Rollers or Chiefs will not be in the semi-finals,” he said.