Almost five months later, in an interregnum already more seen, the National Football Championship (Girabola 2023-24) starts Saturday with an eastern “derby” between Bravos do Maquis do Moxico-Desportivo da Lunda-Sul, and a national “classic” between 1.º de Agosto-Petro de Luanda.
With an atypical start, at a time when the players went through a “forced” closure after pre-season, due to three consecutive postponements of the competition, the games will really be worth it for the emotion and not so much for the sporting ability of the actors on the field.
Playing at their home stadium, Mundunduleno, in Luena, at 3:00 pm, the hosts seek to maintain their unbeaten record against Lundas, in the balance of four games between them, in the history of the competition.
On Sunday, August 1st-Petro de Luanda will star from 16:00 pm in the biggest national “classic”, at the Coqueiros stadium, due to the interdiction of the 11th of November, home of the contenders when in the condition of hosts.
Throughout 45 editions of the event started in 1979, this is the third time that the draw dictates the clash in the first round between the two “giants” of national football, 1.º de Agosto with 13 titles and Petro with 17, after the 1992 and 2010 editions, with a double triumph for the “military” (2-1 and 1-0).
Unlike the last competitions, this time Girabola starts with one less team (15 against 16 of the last edition) due to the removal of Escolinha Isaac de Benguela, who did not demonstrate financial capacity with the Angolan Football Federation (FAF).
The competition will be marked by the return of Kabuscorp do Palanca, after being relegated to the second division due to contractual breaches and having ascended this year to the top tier via the Luanda Provincial Championship, known as “segundona”.
In fact, the national champion in 2013 has had a troubled tenure since he became visible in football in Angola, due to punishments by the FAF or FIFA. More recently, in a corruption case that also involved Petro de Luanda and Académicado Lobito, Kabuscorp was one of the protagonists, in a case that ended with the permission to participate in the sports season until the conclusion of the process.
This club, so popular for its membership and the eccentricity of its president, Bento Kangamba, receives Sporting de Cabinda in the opening round, Saturday (4 pm), at the Coqueiros stadium, in the capital Luanda.
For the 2023/24 season, the FAF approved ten stadiums, 22 de Junho and Coqueiros (in Luanda), Álvaro Buta (Zaire), Ombaka (Benguela), Tundavala (Huíla), Mundunduleno (Moxico), Calulo (Cuanza Sul), 1.º de Maio (Malanje) and 4 de Janeiro (Uíge).
The Angolan Football Federation has put on “stand-by” the Tafe stadium in Cabinda, which has been in recent years the home of the local Sporting, São Filipe and Buraco, in the province of Benguela, as well as França Ndalu, the latter long awaited by the fans and management of 1.º de Agosto.
The 11 de Novembro stadium, authorized for the African League matches, where the Angolan representative, Petro de Luanda, has already been eliminated, awaits approval from CAF, after rehabilitation works.
Matchday 1: Saturday (28th)
FC Bravos do Maquis-Desportivo da Lunda Sul (3 p.m., Mundunduleno)
Kabuscorp of Palanca-Sporting de Cabinda (4 p.m., Coqueiros)
Sunday (29)
São Salvador do Zaire-CR União de Malanje (3 p.m., Álvaro Buta field)
Desportivo da Huíla-Interclune (3 p.m., Tundavala-postponed)
St. Rita of Cascia-Holy Hope (3 p.m., January 4)
1.º de Agosto-Petro de Luanda (4 pm, Coqueiros field)
Wiliete de Benguela-Recreativo do Libolo (4 p.m., Ombaka)
Académica do Lobito rests due to the calendar.
Source: AngoNoticias