Swallows fly off to cup final

NORTHERN Areas outfit Swallows could be in for a R20000 bonanza after winning the Eastern Cape leg of the Carling League of Champions competition at the Saints field in Gelvandale on Sunday.

As winners of the Eastern Cape leg, Swallows will fly to Johannesburg for the national championships at the Nike Sports Centre in Soweto. The winners will take home R20000 plus an all-expenses paid trip to the highly anticipated 2014 Carling Black Label Cup on July 26 for the players and their partners, where they will be wined and dined.

The Carling League of Champions competition was played across the country by teams representing taverns.

The competition is aimed at the man in the street as not all the participants play in local leagues.

"The competition is aimed at giving the ordinary soccer lover a championship moment," Carling marketing manager Carmen Heunis said.

In Sunday's tournament, eight teams from as far afield as Queenstown were divided into two groups and played a round robin.

Swallows topped Group B and in the finals beat group A winners Seven Stars 2-0.

Carling Black Label Cup brand campaign manager Devlin Lakay expressed his gratitude to the communities which rallied behind their teams.

"The tournament has produced champion moments for the players and this would not have been possible had it not been for the amazing support from the communities," Lakay said. - Mogan Segadavan