Surely the community of Tembisa would have loved to witness their beloved Highlands Park lifting the National First Division (NFD) trophy at Makhulong Stadium.

But the Lions of the North will receive their crown at Cape Town's Athlone Stadium in their final game of the season against Stellenbosch on May 6.

Highlands clinched automatic promotion to the Absa Premiership following their 5-1 victory over Pretoria University last Saturday.

The new NFD champions will play two of their last four league matches at home, starting by hosting Mthatha Bucks on Saturday and Black Leopards on April 29.

Highlands director Sinky Mnisi insists they are not feeling hard done by their coronation away from home.

"We have already won the title and that's the most important thing. The trophy is just a formality. We do not want to change the procedure because all the previous years, the NFD champions have been getting their trophies in the last game of the season,'' Mnisi told Sowetan yesterday.

"We know our fans would have loved to see us celebrating with our trophy in front of them.''

The league's spokesman Lux September said all the clubs are aware of the trophy handover procedure, confirming that nothing will change in the scenario of Highlands.