22 Jan 2019

The first leg semi-finals of the most lucrative club football competition, the Mascom Top 8 takes place over the weekend with Sunday’s Gaborone derby between Gaborone United and Township Rollers likely to be a fascinating fixture.

Jwaneng Galaxy and BDF XI, who play in Jwaneng on January 26, should also produce fireworks for the two sides vying to proceed to the final and attempt to win the competition for the second time having been crowned Top 8 winners in 2014 and 2017 respectively.

January 27’s match at the National Stadium should provide tantalising fare for football connoisseurs, as Rodolfo Zapata will lead Rollers against his old employers GU; the two sides having both won the competition twice and hoping for the chance to have a record third bite at the cherry.

Yesterday, members of the press were briefed on the logistical preparations, with the chairperson of the local organising committee, Moreo Modisenyana saying it was all systems go for the weekend clashes.

“Already this season has been quite successful, we experienced a good number of supporters who came to watch the quarter-final matches that were played, although we did not have access to the National Stadium then. We used the smaller Molepolole, Jwaneng, Serowe and Orapa stadiums,” Moreo said.

He revealed that tickets were put on sale last Friday in Jwaneng and Gaborone to allow for fans to have sufficient time to purchase so that they get the chance to be part of the weekend’s excitement.

“We have also ensured that we beef up security for the two matches. In Gaborone there will be 120 security guards and 20 police officers working on match day, and in Jwaneng there will be 60 security officers and 15 police officers,” Moreo added.

Mascom chief communications and public relations officer, Tebogo Lebotse-Sebego said there would be activations to ensure engagement with supporters and create excitement around the matches on Friday at the Gaborone Bus Rank and at the stadium ahead of the match in Jwaneng.

Botswana Premier League chief executive officer (CEO), Thabo “Styles” Ntshinogang revealed that players who had featured for any of the teams in the quarter-finals but had subsequently moved on to another side during the January transfer window would be cup tied and would not be able to play.

Ntshinogang further revealed that the Gaborone derby tickets are available at CA Sales in Gaborone at P50 for the grand stand, P40 the eastern ‘Panda’ stand, and P30 for the northern and southern stands, while tickets for the Galaxy-BDF match will cost a standard P30 all round, and can be purchased from Shell and Pick N Pay in Jwaneng. ENDS