27 Apr 2022

As the three-year Orange Botswana sponsorship of the FA Cup comes to an end this season, team officials are keeping fingers crossed with hope for sponsorship renewal. 

The sponsorship of Botswana Football Association’s (BFA) long-standing and an all-encompassing FA Cup seems to have stroke the right chord among the competing teams.

The sponsor rescued the cup, which was founded in 1968, then known as the Lions Cup, by injecting in P12.6 million for three seasons; P4.2 million per season while P15 million went to marketing the cup that had touched many lives.

While BFA spokesperson Tumo Mpatane told BOPA that talks were underway with a view to renewing their ‘marriage vows’ with Orange Botswana, team representatives hailed the relationship and begged that Orange Botswana renewed the contract albeit with some improvements on the monetary aspect. 

“We are happy with the mileage and progress that the Orange FA Cup has gained. 

We are in good talks with Orange over the product and definitely, at the end of the season we will announce a way forward,” Mpatane said.

Mpatane hoped for good development with Orange Botswana so that the Cup continued to touch many lives and render BFA regional structures the biggest winners they have been in the past two seasons of the Orange FA Cup.

“They look to every season knowing very well that they can generate income from the activities of the Orange FA Cup,” added Mpatane.

With the talks at an advanced stage, teams plead with Orange Botswana to ‘come back and continue developing football and exciting supporters’.

NICO United’s manager Mothusi Ncube said, “Certainly! 

We are happy with Orange and we would like them to come back and sponsor this tournament again.”

Ncube, however, wanted Orange Botswana to consider increasing the preparatory funds disbursed to teams, saying the P10 000 at the last 32 stages was too little to incentivise players and the technical team. 

He argued that cups required teams to constantly motivate the players financially for them to be in the right frame of mind to perform.

While he lauded Orange Botswana for sponsorship and prize money, MR Highlanders’ Witness Phuthego wanted the organisers to proactively communicate changes to the play rules and regulations in advance. 

“They cannot be 100 per cent perfect, but Orange is doing very well for our football and they are also doing many things right,” Phuthego quipped. 

Speaking in unity with other teams calling for the renewal of Orange’s sponsorship of the all division encompassing cup, Eleven Angels manager, Simon Tekele hailed the sponsor for resuscitating a cup that had taken his team to places they had never dreamt of reaching.

The cup is even great for a team of predominantly young players like the Angels. 

It helps such players develop as they test their skills against the best while ascending the cup levels, Tekele observed. 

“We also get a rare opportunity to test our mettle against Premier League teams, a move that could only happen through friendly games sometimes,” Takele said. 

Although some teams have qualms with the consolation prizes at lower levels, Tekele relished the challenge. 

He believed teams should feel challenged to aim for the ultimate prize of P700 000 than to cry for fees at the lowest level of the food chain.

For Peacemakers, the Orange backed cup had helped the team revive their support base as they sought to grow their following, manager Raymond Tshetlhana has found. 

“This cup avails us an opportunity to take football to the people as we have done with our past two games. 

It also helps us entice, lure and touch hearts of football lovers while in the process garnering some supporters,” Tshetlhana said. 

Orange Botswana came on board to resuscitate the all-inclusive cup, which was hitherto on death bed due to lack of sponsors, in 2018. 

Back then Coca Cola sponsored the tournament for 20 years from 1992 to 2012 before the sponsor decided to shift focus to football development. 

Gaborone United won the last Coca Cola sponsored FA Cup edition and pocketed P350 000 while runners up Mochudi Centre Chiefs, who lost on penalties, took home a P200 000 cheque.

It then took over six years to witness the return of the cup famous for seeing underdogs producing upsets and giant-killing performances, courtesy of Orange Botswana. 

The ultimate winner of the tournament pockets P700 000 while the runners-up get P350 000. 

Already, First Division North league side NICO United claimed the scalp of MR Highlanders where the latter’s coach felt the result was an upset. First Division South outfit Holy Ghost shocked Premier League side Orapa United while Division One team BIUST sent First Division South side Red Sparks packing out of the 48-team tournament. 

Teams bowing out at the first round cup walk home with P5 000. 

These are usually division one teams as the format dictates that lower-division teams play among themselves and those progressing meet premier league teams at the last 32.

The FA Cup features 16 teams from Division One, eight from each of First Division North and First Division South and 16 Premier League teams to complete a 48-team Cup. 

Current holders Gaborone United are the most successful with seven titles under their belt with Township Rollers following at six championships and Notwane with four. BDF XI, Extension Gunners and Mogoditshane Fighters have each accumulated three titles. TASC and Chiefs have each garnered two championships while Uniao Flamengo Santos, TAFIC, Police XI, BMC and Orapa United have a title each. Ends