adminTournament co-ordinator, Stan Kasukuwere, told a media briefing in the capital yesterday the stage was now set for the matches to explode into life and he anticipates a very successful tournament this year.
The tournament is part of the celebrations to mark President Mugabe’s birthday and will feature last season’s top four teams – Dynamos, FC Platinum, Motor Action and Hwange.
The kits, which were presented at a press conference, were sponsored by Nyaradzo Funeral Service and Kasukuwere revealed that they are still working on the structure of the prize money for the participating teams.
Motor Action and FC Platinum will start the ball rolling in the first semi-final at Sakubva on Saturday and defending champions Dynamos open their campaign against Hwange at Barbourfields on Sunday.
Kasukuwere said they were also going to meet the clubs’ costs of participating in the tournament, which include transport and accommodation.
“Every year we celebrate the birthday of our President through the 21st February Movement and the Bob Super Cup is part of the events to commemorate this day,” said Kasukuwere.
“This is the second time to host this tournament and I must say we have grown a bit bigger compared to last year when we had only two teams participating. We have taken on board two more teams this year to make it more exciting.
“We are also providing accommodation at four-star hotels in Bulawayo and Mutare because we feel the teams should arrive earlier, take a rest before playing and they must also sleep over in those cities after the match and travel the following day.”
The finals will be played at Rufaro on February 26, with the losing semi-finalists featuring in a third place play-off, to be used as a curtain raiser to the main match.
Kasukuwere said there will be no extra time and, in the event of a draw, the game will proceed straight to a penalty shoot out to decide the winner.
Last year’s Bob Super Cup was sponsored to the tune of US$40 000 and it featured Harare giants Dynamos and CAPS United.
DeMbare won 3-2 and received US$25 000 while the Green Machine got US$15 000 and both teams went on to receive US$30 000 each from President Mugabe for participating in that match.
“The Bob Super Cup doesn’t have a fund and we rely mainly on donations from sponsors.
“But we are going to provide transport to all the participating teams to and from the match venues,” said Kasukuwere.
Premier Soccer League chief executive, Kenny Ndebele, said the tournament was important for the clubs as they are all preparing for the Caf tournaments.
Dynamos and FC Platinum are representing the nation in the Champions League while Motor Action and Hwange will be involved in the Confederation Cup.
Online Reporter