21 Apr 2016

Township Rollers and Orapa United will battle for the Mascom Top 8 Cup glory and a whooping P1.2 million first prize in what is anticipated to be a thrilling final.

The match will be played at Francistown Sports Complex on Saturday April 23. Rollers will be aiming to win the competition known as Tse Di Tona for the second time after winning the first edition in 2012. United on the other hand will be playing their first ever cup final.

United head coach Madinda Ndlovu guided Rollers to two successive finals in 2014 and 2015, losing to BDF XI and Gaborone United on both occasions.  Ndlovu will be hoping for a third time win this time around.

The last match between the two teams ended in a draw at Itekeng stadium. The two teams are also neck-to-neck in the race for the beMOBILE Premiership title. Mapalastina lead the log-standings while the Ostriches are in second place.

Rollers public relations officer Bafana Pheto said his team had prepared well to bring the trophy back to Gaborone. He said they would stage a motorcade from Chadibe to Francistown before the match.

“We would head to Francistown with the intention of painting the city blue and gold,” he said. Barulaganyi Mogotsi of Orapa United said reaching the finals was an achievement for his team. He said they were now on their way to win the cup.

Botswana Football Association chief executive officer Kitso Kemoeng apologised to sponsors of the competition, Mascom Wireless, for the ordeal the tournament has gone through due to protests lodged against Township Rollers’ use of midfielder Ofentse Nato. Mochudi Centre Chiefs have alleged that the midfielder was improperly registered when the two teams played each other in the semifinal. ENDS