Johannesburg: 12 June 2019 – The Soweto Derby is undoubtedly one of the most impassioned matches on the African continent and has remained so since the teams’ first clash in 1970. As the first Soweto Derby to take place ahead of the new season, this year’s Carling Black Label Cup is set to be highly contested. This fierce rivalry between two of the country’s largest football clubs, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, attracts massive support from football fans across the country – as they are presented with a unique opportunity to select their preferred starting line-ups.
To further enhance the fan experience of this much-awaited pre-season derby, Carling Black Label is affording fans the opportunity to go beyond selecting their starting line-up. The 2019 edition encourages fans to shape the future of football by choosing “game-changers”, from a selection of seven, that will impact the rules of the beautiful game. These “game-changers” will give fans more control of the match through technological advancements, format changes and more power to further evolve the game.
Over the past few years, technological developments have aided in the progression of world sport and football, mainly to promote fair play but also as added entertainment value for sports fans. Recent developments such as goal-line technology and VAR (Video Assistant Referee) have been at the forefront of development in football, however, technology has also made teams more accessible for fans through their websites and social media accounts – where fans are given unprecedented access to the teams and players. In addition to this, a large amount of information is also shared amongst fans and various football stakeholders through football discussions. Through platforms such as these, fans are exposed to quick and direct communication with all football stakeholders.
For the 2019 Carling Black Label Cup, three of the game-changers are linked to social media; as football fans will be able vote to select substitutions, the Man of the Match and the team captain on Twitter. In addition to these advancements, fans can vote for the match officials to wear a microphone on the field of play. All these game-changers are in an effort to evolve the game of football and bring football fans; as mouthpieces closer to the game.
“Technology is a huge part of modern football and as a brand that constantly seeks innovation, these four changes play a part in giving fans more power in shaping the future of football. The Carling Black Label Cup has been uniquely established for the fans, and with each edition we try to find progressive ways of enhancing the fan experience. Twitter is one of the fastest growing social media networks and there are plenty of football fans currently on Twitter; we wanted to involve that online community in the Carling Black Label Cup. So far this has worked out well, as the game-changer with the leading votes is Twitter-selected captain for match day. This is a clear indication of how active fans are on social media and how they believe the platform brings them closer to the game”, said Carling Black Label Cup brand director, Grant Pereira.
As with every Carling Black Label Cup, two lucky consumers over the age of 18 have an opportunity to win the ultimate Champion Coach experience; where they will coach the Soweto Giants during training, sit in the pre-match briefing and be part of the dugout on match day. Consumers can enter by purchasing a selected Carling Black Label beer and dialing *120*660* unique code # to enter. Entry is 20c per 20 seconds on USSD.
Tickets to the football spectacle, scheduled for Saturday, 27 July 2019 at the FNB Stadium, are still available at Computicket as well as Shoprite/Checkers stores countrywide. Consumers can also purchase their tickets at www.computicket.com. Tickets come in three categories: Level 5 which will be selling for R75, Level 1 – R110 and Level 2 for R180. The FNB stadium also offers hospitality packages which are sold through SAIL at www.sail.co.za.
ABOUT THE GAME CHANGERS:
4th substitution for Goal keeper
§ Coaches will have an option of utilising a 4th sub; to replace the goal-keeper (injury or strategic)
Fans select the Captain
§ Fans can vote on the captain; once the starting line-up has been confirmed
Twitter selects a substitution
§ Fans on Twitter can contribute to the selection of a substitute (in addition to SMS).
Rolling Subs
§ 3 -5 substitutes will have the opportunity to enter and exit the field of play, at any time (as per 5vs5)
Yellow card timeout
§ Cautions (yellow card) will result in players sitting out of play (off-field) for 2-5 minutes
Twitter selects Man of Match
§ Fans on Twitter will have the opportunity to contribute to the selection of the Man of the Match; by voting
Mic on the ref
§ Ref wears a mic so that fans on TV can hear his interactions with the players.
