With top-flight football back in Bloemfontein, KickOff has learnt that there is a new mid-season tournament in the pipeline, with Marumo Gallants, Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns among the teams enlisted.
Gallants' relocation to Free State has revived football festivities in the province, with the appetite for the game demonstrated by the turnout at Free State Stadium when Bafana Bafana hosted Zimbabwe and won 3-1 in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier in June.
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With the side undergoing structural changes and embracing the identity of Bloemfontein Celtic, they have received the backing of government and the business sector in seeking to revive the football culture and promote the spirit of sport in the province.
Following a meeting held by Siwelele Sa Marumo over the weekend at Dr. Molemela Stadium, with prominent dignitaries such as Free State Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae and Mangaung Executive Mayor Gregory Nthatisi in attendance, items on the agenda included a presentation by prominent businessman Ben Moseme.
This website is in possession of minutes, where a Moseme, Executive Chairperson of C-Squared, a company that organised Mangaung Cultural Festival (Macufe), "informed the meeting that he wants to work with [the] Siwelele family to enhance [the] development of Sports and especially to revive this never die spirit upheld so far" by Celtic.
Moseme revealed, in his presentation, that they will be launching a new tournament called the Cultural Urban Festival Africa (Cufa) Cup next month in Mangaung, which would have Free State teams Gallants, Mangaung United and D'General, joined by Chiefs and Sundowns.
"He [Moseme] also deliberated that they will be launching the Cufa Cup next month in Mangaung. He wants us to be part of this exciting new opportunity, where we'll see this cup travelling as far as Nigeria and Ghana," the minutes of the Gallants meeting read, in part.
C-squared has been organizing the Cufa music festivals and comedy shows, among its entertainment offerings.
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Amakhosi and Downs were previously involved in a mid-season friendly tournament, the Shell Helix Ultra Cup, which was shelved after only its second season in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chiefs enhanced relations with the Free State football industry after they hosted the pre-season Toyota Cup against Young Africans at Free State Stadium in July, which also saw a curtain-raiser played between the club's legends and their Bloemfontein Celtic counterparts.