2012 Carling Black Label Cup launched

The 2012 Carling Black Label Cup will afford millions of South African football fans an opportunity to choose their starting line-up for the Soweto Derby encounter between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs at Soccer City on Saturday, 28 July.

In its second year, the Carling Black Label Cup aims to build on the huge successes achieved in 2011, when fans cast more than 10.5-million votes as they took on the role of coaches in the Soweto Derby.

This sporting innovation initiated by Carling Black Label made history by turning the world of sports sponsorships on its head with a uniquely South African campaign that captured the hearts and imaginations of football fanatics around the country.

Having selected their starting XIs, fans are once again able to call for substitutions during the match, as was the case in 2011 when the Carling Black Label Cup was won 4-3 on penalties by Orlando Pirates after 0-0 stalemate between the two sides that provided a great tactical battle for the supporters.

In order to enter, adult fans must purchase a specially marked bottle of Carling Black Label beer and look for the unique 11-digit code on the underside of the bottle top.

By dialing 120764* and entering their unique code and the # sign (with no spaces in between), they can then choose the team they would like to manage, and the players they would like to see in the starting line-up. The voting is free of charge to the public.

Those supporters who cast their votes can win great prizes, including a share of  R3-million worth of airtime, match tickets to the showpiece event on July 28 and, best of all, a coach’s experience with either Pirates or Chiefs on match-day.

One of the unique features of the Carling Black Label Cup is the fantastic prize that will allow two lucky fans to experience their team in training, sit in the pre-match briefing and be part of the dug-out with their favourite team. This is a once in a life-time experience for adult consumers.

All supporters who cast their vote for the players they would like to see compete in the 2012 Carling Black Label Cup will be automatically entered into this competition.

In addition, on Derby Day, fans will be empowered to make a substitution – meaning they will have a real influence on the outcome of the game and literally “Be the Coach”. The Consumer coach can only make one substitution.

Every USSD entry is counted and audited by one of South Africa’s largest and independent accounting firms, Grant Thornton. This will guarantee that every vote is counted.

In addition, Carling Black Label has selected former Bafana Bafana captain Lucas Radebe as the campaign ambassador. He believes that the opportunity afforded to the supporters to ‘Be the Champion Coach’ is too good to pass up.

“All football fans watch from the stands or from their living rooms and dream of the opportunity to make a difference and have their say. To be given that opportunity in such a massive match as the Carling Black Label Cup Soweto Derby between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs is very special.

“It used to be just the players who would pitch themselves against one another on the field of play, but now fans of both Pirates and Chiefs can claim bragging rights by seeing who is the most skilful in team selection and tactics. What a wonderful initiative to be a part of,” Radebe says.

But the Carling Black Label Cup is much more than the Soweto Derby and the chance for fans to ‘Be the Champion Coach’. Carling Black Label also supports the grassroots development of coaches from regions across South Africa via its Coach the Coaches initiative, which is led by national team tactician Pitso Mosimane.

Last year, Mosimane took 36 grassroots coaches through a week-long workshop sponsored by Carling Black Label, where they were exposed to the very latest global coaching methods and given the knowledge to take back to their teams and their communities.

The Coach the Coaches initiative will be in action once again this year, when more aspiring coaches are afforded this excellent opportunity to learn from the man who will take Bafana Bafana to the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

“It was emotional for me listening to the coaches from last year give their feedback on the Coach the Coaches course because I could see what it meant to them to be there. It gave me a huge sense of wanting to come back and do the course again and again. There are many people out there who can benefit from this sort of experience and I want to give them all the assistance I can, in the same way that I have been helped along in my career too,” Mosimane says.

The Carling Black Label Cup will be keeping fans up-to-date with the voting throughout the campaign, but supporters can also view their team, make player selections and have their say by visiting www.carlingblacklabel.co.za.