ORANGE FA CUP COMPETES WITH THE LEAGUE

Football in this country is slowly turning into a laughing stock as some of the decisions taken by the people in charge continue to shock the audience.

Just when one decides to give a benefit of the doubt, a new drama begins to unfold before you sit down.

The second edition of the Orange FA Cup just started on the 30th September 2019 with the Northern side of the country teams locking horns against each other.

Orange FA CUP that has just been renamed since it came back with a new sponsor which is Orange and was previously Coca-Cola cup.

Last year in the first edition,few complaints were raised that the competition interfered with the football calendar, the teams complained that they spent more money in honoring games than money coming in. This left them even more broke, the money was little.

The date for the final league game was postponed and slotted after the league was over, it was also played during the transfer window. The final was also played immediately after the national team assignment.

Township Rollers complained that the players did not have enough rest while Orapa United were saying they did not have enough time for preparation with the coach as he was also with the national team.

This time around the competition was played while the premier league was also ongoing. This is something very uncommon in football. You go to the English Premier league, La-Liga, Serie A, the Bundersliga, even our closest neighbors Premier Soccer League (PSL) in South Africa.

The cup competitions are never played with the league at the same time. The league stops for these competitions to play. They never compete with the league.

One would only wonder what is happening with our football. Can’t we learn from others? Don’t we see what others do? How do we grow when our local competitions compete for supporters and coverage instead of allowing everybody time to shine? How do we keep or attract sponsors like this? Is our football cursed or it is just that people are ignorant?

This is an embarrassment and an insult to football lovers and I believe that an explanation must be given.

An apology must be given for the actions taken.

Football is a beautiful game that brings people together. It must be respected, must be served with dignity. Things like these should be stopped.

BY:Phodiso Gaebepe