Carling Black Label brand manager, Shaveer Badul feels the “shine” has not been taken away that it is small teams that will face each other in the Carling Knockout final at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.
Stellenbosch FC will face TS Galaxy in the Carling Cup, unlike in the MTN8 where the telecommunication company was blessed to see Orlando Pirates face off against Mamelodi Sundowns at the same venue in October.
Pirates won an entertaining game in the penalty shootout at the same venue in Durban.
In this tournament Pirates were the last to ‘disappoint’ the sponsors, losing to Richards Bay in the quarterfinals on penalties, with Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs losing in the first round.
Sundowns were dumped out by Galaxy, though the former was under strength as their players were part of the Bafana Bafana squad that drew with Ivory Coast in the West African country.
Chiefs, who were previously known as cup kings until the resurgence of Sundowns in the last eight years, were elbowed out by AmaZulu in the first round.
This led to the concern that the final would be watched by a sparse of crowd at the iconic venue in Durban since these two sides are not crowd pullers, unlike the big three.
“There are no small teams in the final,” argued Badul.
“There were 16 teams in the Premier Soccer League which is a League Cup, and it is a knockout tournament, it is anyone’s game on the day.
“I don’t think there is any shine taken away. At the end of the day, it is football that is winning. Your league form does not matter.
“As sponsors, we could haven’t been happier if football was played, and it was the most deserving teams. Those teams dug deep made it to a couple of rounds and reached the final.
“You can’t make it to the final by chance or accident or coincidence, it is through the effort they put in, it starts with training, it starts with coaches, the team setup.
“If these two teams made it to the final, congratulations to them.”
Badul and the PSL said the tickets are selling, of course not at the same level as the MTN8 final.
The sponsor, to make a spectacle, confirmed the musical entertainment line-up which includes Dr Nothende, Queen of Ndebele, Khuzani, DJ Tira, Young Stunna, and legendary Thebe. The gates at the venue will be opened at noon on Saturday, with the game kicking off at 15:00.
The winner on Saturday will play in the Carling Cup final – against the Carling All Stars team, which is a combination of players both voted for by the fans and the coach, at Peter Mokaba Stadium on 6 January.
