It is a well known fact that in Botswana most football teams, especially those in lower leagues, do not have sponsors. The money that lower league teams get from cup competitions such as the Orange FA Cup can be the difference between financial security and crisis even though it is not enough to sustain them throughout the season. From time immemorial, cup competitions in Botswana have offered lower league clubs the opportunity to dream that their teams could defeat a club a division or two above them or go all the way and win the cup itself. The benefits of playing in cup games are many: the higher lower clubs progress in the cup, the more money they will generate. So it is inevitable that the ‘small guns’ will not want to be eliminated in the preliminary rounds of the Orange FA Cup, which means making it to the first round and beyond and a chance to play against the ‘big guns’.
The Orange FA Cup will also offer players the opportunity to test their strengths against professional clubs and the opportunity to get spotted by the ‘big guns’ and a chance to make a career in the professional league among other benefits. The Tonota FC fixture against First Division North campaigners and former Premier League contestants, Motlakase Power Dynamos, at the Tonota Primary School grounds over the weekend was no exception. The match, which was attended by amongst others Botswana Football Association (BFA) president Tariq Babitseng, ended 1-0 in favour of Motlakase, courtesy of a Kgololo Kgogobi's goal in the second half. Babitseng said the was impressed by the number of people who attended the game although most Tonota residents said the crowd was nothing as compared to the number of fans who usually attend the Tonota derby between Tonota FC and Bluebirds. Kgogobi beat the Tonota goalkeeper with a header who mistimed his run from the goal posts. It was a game that the teams wanted to win through hook and crook and it was no surprise that a Motlakase player was given a yellow card after he threw something that looked like salt on the pitch after Kgogobi scored.
