28 Sep 2026

The highly anticipated Top 8 tournament made a triumph last Friday following a six-year break with a whooping P4 million injection from continental initiative, African Hero.

Unveiled during an official launch in Gaborone, the tournament’s return is being framed as more than just a mid-season fixture addition, but a calculated effort to restore the commercial viability, electric atmosphere and grassroots impact of local football

Addressing stakeholders at the launch, Minister of Sport Jacob Kelebeng emphasised that stadiums needed to reclaim their former glory.

“Football without supporters is just a game. With supporters, it becomes an experience. We need to go back to the days of filling up the National Stadium or any other venue where there is a game. Let’s make football a beautiful experience again,” Kelebeng said.

The minister’s sentiment touched on a critical truth for local sport development, saying corporate sponsorship flowed where engagement followed.

On one hand, incentivising fans to pack the terraces, the tournament is set to create a self-sustaining ecosystem that would attract brands like African Hero, led by CEO Akash Singh and backed by businessman, Zunaid Moti, to invest deeper into the nation’s sporting infrastructure.

Adding further momentum to the launch, Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) stepped up as a co-partner with a P1 million in-kind pledge.

Representing the telecom giant, Dr Abel Mc Erick outlined the investment within the broader national vision championed by President Advocate Duma Boko to treat sport not merely as weekend recreation, but an economic driver and a powerful vehicle for youth empowerment. The multi-sector approach addresses a historical critique of local football, that elite clubs struggle to achieve financial sustainability.

With a total prize spanning team pay-outs down to individual excellence, the economic trickle-down effect is designed to reward competitive depth rather than just top-tier dominance.

When the tournament kicks off in October, eight teams, including Gaborone United, Jwaneng Galaxy, Mochudi Centre Chiefs, Sua Flamingos, Orapa United, Nico United, Township Rollers and Morupule Wanderers, will lock horns for the ultimate prize.

The lucrative reward structure ensures fierce competition across every tier, with champions walking away with P1.5 million, runners-up securing P750,000, semi-finalists earning P200,000 each and quarter-finalists taking home P100,000 each.

Individual performance will also be incentivised, ranging from the P50,000 Player of the Tournament award and P30 000 for the top coach down to P25,000 for the best goalkeeper, P20,000 each for the young player and top referee and P15,000 apiece for the best assistant referee, top supporter and supporters’ player of the tournament. ENDS