05 Feb 2019

Every evening in Tsabong, football players brave the heat and white thick dust in the playing fields to ready themselves for the newly established and much anticipated Orange FA Cup. 

King Rodgers, a second division team who are the underdogs, seem to be ready to battle it out with Black Rangers, a first division team in the south region. The duo are expected to lock horns in the first leg of the FA cup next weekend.

Despite being pitted against a team which is regarded as the best in Tsabong, King Rodgers player coach, Kagiso ‘Phiri’ Gaseeme is not intimidated. 

“The boys are in good form, we have won all our three games since the beginning of the season which began in November. So we are in top form,” he said.

Phiri said Rodgers, who are the reigning champions of the regional Independence Cup and 2017/2018 southern region second division champions, are ready to face their seniors and prove themselves. 

“This will not be the first time that we face Rangers, we played them during the Independence Cup and we beat them 2-1, so they know us,” he said.

The team has also acquired new players to beef up the squad in preparation for the games. “We have recruited new players who have been playing quite well, and we have been working hard to perfect our game plan,” said Phiri. 

He said his team was working on improving their game tactics because they had been doing well on scoring, but poor on defence. 

On the other hand, Black Rangers coach, Duncan Tshegofatso said his team was ready to face Rodgers. 

“In the past the boys have been complacent when playing Rodgers, but we are not going to allow any room for complacency. We are going to fight for the Orange FA Cup. This is a big cup so we need to go all the way,” he said. 

“We are working on our tactical approach to convert our chances. We want to improve movement in and around the box. We are working on improving our game to play as a unit and close the gaps. We want to be compact when we move towards the goalposts and when we defend,” he said in an interview during a practice session at Tsabong Stadium.

Tsabong teams will also be part of the Orange FA Cup which was launched in December by wireless network company, Orange Botswana and Botswana Football Association (BFA) in a three season P13 million deal. 

Regional, first division and elite league teams will compete for the cup and the champions will pocket P700 000, runners up will get P350 000 while teams which will reach the semi-finals will be P150 000 richer. 

The player of the tournament will pocket P40 000, top goal scorer, P25 000 and best goalkeeper of the tournament will get P25 000. 

The best coach, referee and supporters’ player of the tournament will each pocket P10 000. Ends