Sankoyo's preparations ahead of the next season started this week with good news that the side has penned a P750,000 three-year partnership deal with luxury travel operator, Okavango Wilderness Safaris.
Sankoyo will get P250,000 per season for the next three years. Okavango Wilderness Safaris, however, is not joining the Ngurungu community as the title sponsor as the search goes on. Speaking to Mmegi Sport, Sankoyo's public relations officer, Thato Molosi said Okavango Wilderness Safaris will help ease the basic costs of running the club daily.
"Okavango Wilderness Safaris will help us with the basic needs, things like transport costs and local camps among others. We have also looked at life after football, Okavango Wilderness Safaris will help both our players, technical team and staff with short courses so they can be able to make a living for themselves after football.
We are very excited with this partnership as it brings along much greater things more than the quarter million per year," he said. Molosi also said Okavango Wilderness Safaris will aid the team in the search for a premier sponsor. He said the two entities will come up with a campaign in a bid to bring the team back into the elite league.
He said the partnership will help Sankoyo to become more appealing to the rest of the business community in the tourism capital, Maun. "We want to bring in everyone because we are now realising that we have lost a lot since Sankoyo dropped from the Premier League. There are people who are not necessarily supporters of Sankoyo but have benefited from the team's presence in the Premier League.
So now we are saying to the community that we need to come on board and help the team return to the Premier League and with Okavango Wilderness this will help our team to be more appealing," Molosi said. Sankoyo became the first team from the Ngamiland to get promotion to the elite league in 2014. The team enjoyed a five-year stay in the topflight until their relegation in 2019. Since then, Ngurungu has found the ground tough in the second tier and have been struggling to challenge for promotional places.
Sankoyo sit at ninth just a point away from relegation with three games to be played. This weekend, Bush Bucks welcome Rolling Guys at the A.P.U Grounds on Saturday afternoon. In other games, log leaders TAFIC are just a point away from a return to the Premier League as they take on challengers Chadibe FC at Chad Arena. Santa Green and Miscellaneous battle at the Pekenene Grounds while BR Highlanders welcome Mbalakalungu at the Railway Grounds. Calendar Stars visit Motlakase at Oris Radipotsane Grounds as Peacemakers and Green Lovers meet at Samabaje Grounds. The games will kick off at 3:30pm.
