The SAA Supa 8 kicks off this weekend with only one thing certain: new champions will be crowned. Last year’s winners, Jomo Cosmos, failed to make the top eight in the league last season and so are unable to defend their crown.
Those who did end up in the top half of the table will be able to recoup some of the money they spent in the transfer market. A cheque for R1,3-million is on offer for the team that can win three games in a row in this tournament.
Moroka Swallows, Absa Cup winners and last season’s beaten Supa 8 finalists, have become the de facto defending champions. Swallows had a great start to the season, thrashing Ajax Cape Town 3-0 in their first league match, and will face the Cape team again in the Supa 8 on Saturday at the Rand stadium.Â
Swallows PRO Sipho Xulu said: ‘We hope to repeat what we did to Ajax a week ago and will use this tournament as a ladder to reclaim our place in soccer.â€
Striker Lungisane Ndlela will be the target man for the Dube birds after his hat-trick last week. Ajax will be hoping that lightning does not strike twice. Â
In another quarterfinal match to be played at Loftus in Pretoria on Sunday, Supersport United — who recently signed a three year deal with Dstv worth R7,5-million — will face another Cape Town team in Santos.
The other quarterfinal matches will be played next weekend, when Kaizer Chiefs play Black Leopards and Orlando Pirates play Wits.
The tournament will offer teams that did not participate in any off-season tournaments a chance to showcase their new signings.
This year’s tournament will not have the golden goal rule. If teams fail to win within the 90 minutes they will go to extra time; if that fails to deliver a winner, a penalty shoot-out will determine the winner of a game.