It’s Wafa Wafa time again this weekend
The weekend clashes are a lead-up to a determination of the ultimate victor, who will walk away with R8 million and the prestigious and new MTN8 trophy.
It’s Wafa Wafa time again this weekend when the Top 8 teams of the past season of the DStv Premiership lock horns in the MTN8 cup competition.
Reigning champions, Orlando Pirates will kick off the defence of their trophy when it locks horns with a stubborn Sekhukhene United at the iconic Orlando Stadium at 18:00 on August 11.
While Mamelodi Sundowns will herald the opening of the tournament on the same day with a clash against the newly rechristened Moroka Swallows at the Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium in Attridgeville at 15:00.
Sunday will see four more teams in action, starting with an afternoon clash of Cape Town City against 15-time-champions Kaizer Chiefs at the Athlone Stadium in Cape Town at 15:00 while the ‘Trendy Boys’ SuperSport United take on high-riding Stellenbosch at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, Limpopo, at 18:00 to officially close the quarterfinal round of matches.
The coach of AmaKhosi Amahle Molefi Ntseki still needs to register a win in the new 2023/24 season of the premiership following a 0-0 draw to Chippa United in the league opener and went on to suffer a 2-1 defeat at the hands of defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns. He said that he was hoping to add a 16th MTN8 trophy to the Chiefs cabinet.
“It’s been a long since Chiefs last displayed a trophy in their cabinet and we are hoping to annex this one and make it the 16th time that we have won this cup. It’s not going to be easy, but I am sure that if we all put our minds to it and work in unison, both players, management and technical staff, we can overcome,” he said at a press conference launch of the cup competition.
Sea Robbers Cup defending champions coach José Luis Riveiro said his boys were up to the game and eager to successfully defend and be the first ones to engrave their name on the new trophy, making it a dozen times that they have won it and close the gap on their Soweto archrivals, Kaizer Chiefs.
Dube Birds’ new coach Steve Komphela, who indicated that his side has been rebranded from Swallows FC back to their old name of Moroka Swallows, said that rebranding will instil terror in other teams, starting with the MTN8 trophy.
His arch-foe in the opening round, Masandawana’s Rhulani Mokwena said his side was poised to take this trophy more seriously than they have done in the past seasons. “The MTN8 has traditionally been taken lightly as that opening trophy of the season and that mentality has changed as we look to beg an early trophy of the season,” he said, sounding a warning to his former trio of coaches at the Brazilians.
The weekend clashes are a lead-up to a determination of the ultimate victor, who will walk away with R8 m and the prestigious and new MTN8 trophy.
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