Telkom Knockout kicks-off
Nkueni Mayala of Polokwane City with Jimmy Jambo of Kaizer Chiefs shakes hands at the launch.
ONE of South Africa’s major Premier division events will kick-off in October.
The 32nd Telkom Knockout will commence when 16 clubs will go head-to-head in this event. The launch and draw took place on Monday September 16 at SuperSport.
Bloemfontein Celtic lifted the trophy in 2012, the first time in their history, after a roller-coaster ride to the final that included their epic penalty shoot-out victory over Orlando Pirates from the South in the quarterfinals. Celtic went on to defeat Mamelodi Sundowns in the final. Siwelele will defend their title this year against their 15 top-flight opponents.
“As ever there are plenty of matches to look forward to in the opening round of this year’s Telkom Knockout competition. That is what makes this competition among South Africa’s most loved. It is strength versus strength from the start – we have 15 top matches before we crown our champion for 2013 on November 30,” said Ms Joy Khaole – Executive Group Brand and Sponsorships at Telkom.
PSL CEO, Brand de Villiers said: “For the past couple of years, we have enjoyed a great relationship with our partners Telkom who are also our suppliers and, together we have seen the Telkom Knockout Tournament grow in stature every year. Last year’s edition saw great football among the teams with Bloemfontein Celtic emerging as the winners. We are eagerly anticipating another exciting 1 350 minutes of exciting football during the 2013/14 TKO edition. Our shared beliefs and objectives – that of connecting football lovers from all corners of our country and getting them to converse more about football – are what has kept the partnership between the PSL and Telkom strong.”
The competition was first played in 1982 and has largely been dominated by Kaizer Chiefs from the South, who have won almost half of the tournaments played, 13 of the previous 31.
Telkom took over the sponsorship of the competition in 2006, and since then there have been five winners – HP Silver Stars (now Platinum Stars), Kaizer Chiefs (three times), Ajax Cape Town, Orlando Pirates and Bloemfontein Celtic.
Kaizer Chiefs will play Polokwane City in the first round while Orlando Pirates will come up against Mpumalanga Black Aces.
