Metropolitan said the second edition of the tournament will be held in Selebi-Phikwe next month. The inaugural edition was staged in Lobatse last year. On Thursday, Metropolitan retail marketing consultant, Tebogo Toteng said his company realised the importance of developing football at grassroots level hence its involvement with BOPSSA. "We believe that this is a good cause which should be celebrated. I guess choosing to sponsor youth football is not one of the best ideas but for us it is important not to neglect development," he pointed out. Toteng said that the objective of the tournament is to expose children to sports at an early age. He added that his company is delighted by the presence of national team coaches Stanley Tshosane and Veselin Jelusic at the games in Lobatse last year. "We want to see these youngsters breaking into different national teams in future," he stated. Toteng said that this year they have contracted sportswear company, All Kasi, to kit the teams at the tournament. He explained that they will involve various stakeholders in the tournament to ensure that it becomes an important activity in their calendar. All Kasi are the official technical sponsors for national football teams. At the launch of the Metropolitan sponsorship, All Kasi officials said that getting involved in such a noble initiative is important to the company. "We did not hesitate to take part when we were approached. In most cases, companies want to sponsor recognised competitions like Premier League but we feel that this is where our future is, hence our involvement. I would like our youngsters to make their mark in international football at an early age not like the present situation where they reach their prime at the age of 30," said All Kasi marketing director Mokaedi 'Barnes' Maplanka.
BOPSSA publicity secretary, Edward Moreti said that though their association is still new, their intention is to identify talent at an early age. He added that they want to network with other stakeholders and fortunately Metropolitan Botswana has come on board. He said they intend to build on the success of hosting last year's tournament. Playing kits and other equipment for the tournament will be handed over on December 2.
