PSL chairman Irvin Khoza has announced that the newly-formed Carling Knockout Cup will replace the Telkom Knockout. The tournament will run from October until 16 December.
“As the league, we want to welcome the Carling Knockout Cup. There has been a gap in our calendar since the Telkom Knockout pulled out. We agreed and discussed this with the Exco. This tournament will also have Carling XI who will face the winners of the knockout cup on 16 December. We are bringing a bit of innovation and we are creating a platform and a conversation going forward to keep ourselves relevant,” said Khoza.
“This is a worthy partnership and I have high regard for the sponsors Carling Black Label Beer. They have been part of our football for more than 60 years and they never left the stable” added Khoza.
Part of the new innovations is that fans will select the Carling XI team. Which will be done in a 6+5 format. The six players will be selected by supporters through voting while the five will be chosen by the MultiChoice Diski Challenge coaches. The match between the Carling XI and the Knockout Cup winners will be played on 16 December.
It is also not clear whether the popular Black Label Cup which has featured Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs for the last 10 years will continue. The sponsor’s reply to the questions was a simple, ‘watch the space’.
The announcement of the new sponsor just comes days after the PSL last week the Motsepe Foundation would be the new sponsors of the second tier of South Africa football. The league would now be called the Motsepe Foundation Championship and would replace the GladAfrica Championship which pulled out unexpectedly.
