The province’s most lucrative and entertaining amateur soccer tournament, the Selati Cup, proudly sponsored by TSB, is back and set to kick off with a bang in March.
Just as in previous years, the sponsors will give local soccer fanatics an opportunity to participate by voting for the teams they would like to see compete in this tourney, which has over the years produced nothing but entertainment, both on and off the pitch.
TSB’s corporate affairs manager, Vusi Khoza, carefully explained the reasoning behind this voting system. “We have more than 300 teams participating in various streams in the subregion and it would be unfair to hand-pick and choose teams to participate in this tournament.
It is an open secret now that Selati Cup is the most supported amateur football competition in the province, and we have decided to allow all the soccer lovers and our local communities to also have a voice and decide who should participate, because at the end of the day it’s all about these teams and the communities,” explained Khoza.
The SMS line powered by Vodacom opened yesterday and fans can vote until March 5. Staged in the Nkomazi subregion, through this tourney, a number of local soccer stars were scouted by teams campaigning in both the premier soccer and national first division leagues.
The latest product of the Selati Cup is Mpho Mbebe who has just signed a two-year contract with Supersport United. Mbebe comes from a dusty village in Nkomazi called Mandulo.
Upon signing him, his new coach, Gordon Igersond said, “I think he’s going to take this league by storm. He is a very exciting player, whose future in the PSL is very bright.”
“These are the results and rewards of the Selati Cup. This is what we started this tournament for, just to give our disadvantaged boys a once-in-a-lifetime chance to shine.
“There are many more success stories since the inception of this tournament and we will forever be grateful that we have contributed meaningfully towards the development of our communities and our children,” concluded Khoza.
The main sponsors, Tsb will today hold a meeting with all the 317 Nkomazi affiliated teams. The meeting will take place at the Tsb Training Centre at 15:00.
To vote for your favourite team to participate in this annual tourney, simply SMS to 33459. Details will be explained at the meeting.