New trophy launched for GladAfrica Championship
ALEXANDRA – Premier Soccer League and its National First Division (NFD) sponsor GladAfrica launch new trophy for the GladAfrica Championship
The Premier Soccer League and the GladAfrica Group have celebrated their year-long relationship of sponsoring the National First Division by launching a new trophy for the GladAfrica Championship.
August marks a year since the GladAfrica Group were announced as the new title sponsors for the National First Division, which was subsequently renamed the GladAfrica Championship.
The trophy will be handed over to the 2019/20 season winners on 30 August.The new sponsorship resulted in an increase in the prizes for the teams that finish at the top of the championship.
As the season draws to an epic close, several milestones and activities are lined up for the championship. This includes the crowning of the inaugural champions of the new championship and the playoffs for promotion to the premier league.
Speaking at the unveiling of the trophy, PSL chairperson Dr Irvin ‘Iron Duke’ Khoza said, “This partnership between the PSL and GladAfrica is an exciting relationship because it celebrates the African story of excellence. We thank GladAfrica for being part of our family.”
“We know they are strong in engineering services and you can see that this new trophy is as a result of attention to detail. It is something to be proud of. This current season in the GladAfrica Championship has been very exciting and unpredictable and this has always been the strength of our league.”
GladAfrica Group executive chairperson Noel Mashaba said the unveiling of the trophy marked a major milestone in the partnership with the PSL.
“Since entering into this partnership with the PSL, we have spent a significant amount of time trying to figure out what symbol would best represent our commitment to this beautiful sport that is so much loved the world over. We wanted a product that embodies the values and traditions of GladAfrica as a business while embracing the spirit of football and the people of this continent for whom football means everything. From the initial draft design, we moved from one amendment to another until such time that we were satisfied with what we saw. It was an involved and often taxing process,” added Mashaba.
Forged by 10 artisans and using a combination of traditional skills and leading design technology, Mashaba described the trophy as ‘majestic’ and said it was a crowning glory of the league’s pursuit of excellence. Its design speaks to GladAfrica’s commitment to Africa, the place, Africa, the people, and Africa, the pursuit.
The trophy symbolises GladAfrica’s commitment to the development of communities by availing opportunities to the less fortunate and providing a platform for them to discover their full potential, he said.
“To say we’re proud of how far we’ve come would be an understatement. We trust this symbol of our commitment to the development of sport in our country, coupled with the increase in prize money, would serve as motivation for the teams and players alike participating in the GladAfrica Championship to give their utmost best.”
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