EXPLAINER | Carling Cup: What is it and what's the fuss about?

The Carling Black Label Cup was formerly a one-day special event between Soweto giants Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs, but will this year get a facelift. 

The teams and line-ups are chosen by Carling Black Label customers who submit an 11-digit code which is found on Carling products and they then have their vote registered.

Customers also have the opportunity to choose which substitutions to make in-game by voting via text message. 

Since the competition's inception in 2011, there have been nine Carling Cup games with Orlando Pirates emerging victorious in five and Amakhosi winning four times.    

However, this year it was decided to change the structure of event as it's been over a decade since the competition started. 

Team expansion

Four teams will partake in the one-day spectacle at the FNB Stadium which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, 12 November. To participate, a team must feature in the top four teams as voted for by the South African football loving fans.  

The four teams who received the most votes were unsurprisingly current holders Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates while Mamelodi Sundowns and AmaZulu made up the final two places as they received the third and fourth most votes respectively.   

1. Kaizer Chiefs - 490 376 votes 

2. Orlando Pirates - 354 472 votes

3. Mamelodi Sundowns - 171 717 votes

4. AmaZulu - 144 829 votes

Programme of the day

The gates will open at 07:00 on Saturday morning at FNB Stadium. The first semi-final will be at 09:30 between Mamelodi Sundowns and AmaZulu while the second semi-final will be between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs at 12:00.

Prior to the final, there will be also be a third-place penalty playoff between the losers of the first two matches at 15:30 with the final