Selati Cup is still alive and well
Some teams even went as far as to say they were already making preparations for this tournament full of surprises and magical moments, both on and off the pitch.
Even though it hasn’t been confirmed yet, Mpumalanga News has it in good authority that the province’s only lucrative amateur football tournament, the Selati Cup will be back again and will be even bigger and better next year.
There were fears among local teams and concerned community members that this much celebrated soccer tourney might not be staged next year after main sponsors, the giant sugar milling company, TSB was bought by RCL Foods, South Africa’s largest chicken producer.
Mpumalanga News has since established that all the sponsors of the tourney are actually so far impressed and satisfied with the way the tournament is being staged.
As a matter of fact, some of the main players (sponsors) who spoke to this paper during the Selati Cup Awards held in Malalane not so long ago, voiced out their satisfaction and even committed to be part of this tourney in the future.
During the awards, TSB CEO, John du Plessis, said the tournament had been a huge success and that it had come a long way, only to make a better tomorrow.
“The reason why TSB is part of this tourney is because we are part of this community and TSB cannot function and thrive without the support of the community.
Overall, we tries to add value by creating jobs, but we know that this doesn’t always go around, and we need to look at other opportunities, and sport is one of those areas.
“We need to create a foundation for young people in our communities to offer them hope for a bright future,” Du Plessis said at the time.
Also giving this tourney a thumbs-up, was the country’s football controlling body, the South African Football Association (Safa) through Brains Zulu who hailed this tourney as a platform to unearth and nurture talent.
The Selati Cup made history by becoming the first and only amateur soccer tourney to be broadcast live on a radio station.
Nkomazi FM, which has a spill over to both Mozambique and Swaziland carried live all the Selati Cup games, a move which was widely appreciated by many in the subregion.
Local teams who spoke to this paper said they couldn’t wait for next year for the tourney to take flight.
Some teams even went as far as to say they were already making preparations for this tournament full of surprises and magical moments, both on and off the pitch.
