HARARE football giants, Dynamos and Caps United will fancy their chances of progressing to the semi-finals of the NetOne EasyCall Cup after they received what looked like favourable draws.
BY HENRY MHARA
The draw was conducted in Harare yesterday.
Dynamos play How Mine for the quarter-finals of the eight-team tournament, while city rivals, Caps United were paired against Hwange. The pick of the draw sees FC Platinum facing Highlanders, while ZPC Kariba will have to negotiate their way past Chicken Inn.
The tournament is contested by the teams that finished in the top eight last season, where the top four Dynamos, ZPC Kariba, Caps United and FC Platinum were seeded.
The competition’s reigning champions, Triangle, who beat Dynamos in the finals last year, will not be able to defend their title, as they finished ninth on the log table.
Speaking at the function, which was attended by representatives of participating teams, NetOne chief executive officer, Reward Kangai said the tournament is sponsored to the tune of $433 000.
No changes were made to the prize money, with the winners set to pocket $80 000, runners up $50 000, while losing finalists get $30 000.
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Losing quarter-finalists will get $20 000 participation fee.
Kangai said despite the economic hardships that have forced many companies to close shop, NetOne decided to go ahead with the tournament.
“Many companies have downsized significantly, as revenue inflows nose-dived. Just like them, NetOne also felt the pinch and has made appropriate adjustments to weather the storm,” he said.
“As a survival strategy, one of the open options could have been a reduction in our corporate social responsibility activities, with soccer as a prime target. However, cognisant of the massive following of this sport, we refused to sacrifice the beautiful game.”
Premier Soccer League chief executive officer, Kennedy Ndebele welcomed the sponsorship, saying the tournament will kick-off next weekend.
The semi-finals will be played on the first weekend of December, while the finals will be played the following weekend.
Ndebele said the venues will be confirmed in due course, but the matches “will be spread around the country”.
“In staging the rebranded 2015 NetOne Easycall Cup, we hope to market, promote and maximise your brand value by supporting your organisational marketing strategy,” he said.
“The 2014 edition of the NetOne-sponsored cup was a roller coaster, as we witnessed Triangle United FC powering their way to clinch the One Wallet Cup. A total of 10 goals were scored last year and I am confident this year’s edition will be bigger and more exciting,” he said.
“I would like to assure you that we will stage a successful tournament. I want to take this opportunity to appeal to all participating clubs to abide by the tournaments’ rules and regulations, as we grow the game. Acts of hooliganism are unacceptable and they tarnish the image of football and its corporate partners. Football is all about fun and we have to enjoy it as such.”
Quarter-final draw Dynamos vs How Mine, ZPC Kariba vs Chicken Inn, Caps United vs Hwange, FC Platinum vs Highlanders.
