Two football clubs campaigning in the lower division of the Safa Interstate Bus Lines (IBL) Mangaung Promotion League have secured their slots in the final of the annual Champ of Champs tournament featuring four men’s teams.
The two clubs will be made known on Sunday, 2 June, after the Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo districts complete their league competitions.
The other two teams proceeding to the final of the four-team knockout tournament are Classic FC and Junior Mates FC Z champions of Bloemfontein and Wepener, respectively.
The four clubs will face off at Thaba Nchu’s Mmabana Stadium on 8 June to determine the overall winner.
“This is an annual competition featuring the cream of the crop of all teams campaigning in the Safa IBL Mangaung Promotion League, which is run in all towns of the Mangaung Metro.
“The overall winner will be crowned the Champ of Champs. The participating four clubs are champions of the respective town’s local associations, hence the name ‘Champs of Champs,’ ” said Lehlohonolo Maduna, secretary general of Safa in the Mangaung Metro.
The stakes are high for the four teams that qualify to compete in the tournament.
The four teams qualify to compete for a promotion to the Regional League, the third-tier football division in South Africa. Only two teams get promoted to the Regional League, said Maduna.
The two still unknown teams will replace the already relegated Mangaung City from Bloemfontein and GC United from Botshabelo.
The tournament kicks off this year’s Youth Month celebrations, marked annually during June.
