Aili Iilonga
LAST season’s top eight teams in the Namibia Premier League (NPL) will battle it out for the first ever Standard Bank Cup that is set to kick off on Thursday as clubs vie for top honors and a cash prize of N$500,000.
UNAM and Tigers will open the lucrative Standard Bank Top 8 Cup on Thursday night at 20h00 at the Sam Nujoma Stadium and on Friday Mighty Gunners will play host to Tura Magic at the same venue at 20h00.
Saturday will see the quarterfinals continue with Black Africa taking on Eleven Arrows at 17h00, before league champions African Stars lock horns with Orlando Pirates for the second successive Saturday at the Sam Nujoma Stadium. The two sides met last week in the 2018/2019 MTC Premiership season and Stars got the three points with a 1-0 win over an improved youthful Pirates side.
The NPL released the financial breakdown of the competition that was launched late last year and each of the eight clubs will receive N$50,000 for preparations, while the winners will receive N$20,000 to prepare for the two legged semifinals. The draw for the last four will be conducted on 6 March.
The final two sides in the Standard Bank Top 8 Cup will then each receive N$ 15,000 to prepare for the final. The eventual champions of the inaugural Standard Bank Top 8 Cup will walk away with N$500,000 while the runner up will get N$250,000 and each losing semifinalist will be N$ 125,000 richer.
In the Standard Bank Top 8 Cup Individual awards, each Man of the match in the quarterfinals will receive N$2,000 and the prize will increase with N$500 in the semifinals and another N$500 to bring the amount to N$3,000 for the title-deciding match. A total N$15 000 will be given to the Best Player, Top scorer and Best coach, each. The Best Goalkeeper will receive N$10,000, along with the Best Referee, while the Best Assistant Referee will get N$5,000.
Entrance tickets for the match days are selling for N$30 each in advance and N$40 at the gates from web-ticket at Pick n Pay outlets countrywide.
