Get your soccer boots out because the Sbonis’iDiski competition is back.
Launched at Discovery Soccer Park, Illovo, on 22 March, officials representing Shield and its partners, Chelsea and Orlando Pirates football clubs, explained to the media how the second annual event will work.
This year, in addition to the winning three individuals going overseas to tour the stadium, Stamford Bridge, and watch a live Chelsea match, one man or woman will also receive a one-year contract to train with Orlando Pirates’ MultiChoice Diski Challenge team with the possibility of further promotion.
Gareth Marshall, the senior brand manager for Shield, explained that the initial stage of the competition involves customers of Shield products SMSing their details to a phone number on the product.
A total of 100 people from each of five cities in South Africa, including Joburg, are then randomly selected and invited to soccer trials, which are then shortlisted to a smaller group for final trials.
He said hard work will be key for these soccer enthusiasts, as many top players will enter and only the most skilled will progress.
Steve Winnett, the senior development officer at Chelsea, said he thoroughly enjoyed hearing the stories of players last year, whose dream it was to watch Chelsea and become a professional soccer player.
He and Marshall agreed that this competition can act as a stepping stone to those dreams.
Reiterating the importance of developing soccer, Orlando Pirates spokesperson, Thandi Merafe encouraged girls and women to enter the competition as women’s soccer development is a key focus at the club, and she personally wants a woman to win.
The club’s brand activations and development teams manager, Tokoloho Moeketsi, concluded with a joke during a question-and-answer session, that Orlando Pirates would always be ready for a friendly against Chelsea if the English side was up to the challenge.
Also read: Old Parks Soccer Club promises another year of sensational soccer
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