The league sponsorship riddle

Mqondisi Dube | Monday October 31, 2022 16:00

It is the second consecutive league season without a title sponsor with little hopes of grants for clubs.

Critics argue more could have been done to attract sponsors, but how easy is it go get financial partners? From the armchair, it is easy to criticize those tasked with running the league for failing to bring sponsor on board.

But as they say, it’s easier said than done as a critical look at the issue will show the problem runs deeper than what is at the surface. At the surface, is a Botswana Football League administration struggling to attract sponsors.

But beneath that simplistic view, issues are a bit complicated. In the past decade, particularly from 2008 onwards, the league has enjoyed strong backing mostly from Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC).

The company poured around P100,000 million since a landmark sponsorship deal which saw the prize money increased from a paltry P120,000 to a then whooping P1million.

But there has been some stagnation since, with the prize money remaining statistic since Gaborone United were the first recipients of the ‘one metre’ in 2009. Actually, the financial situation has been wobbly, with economic factors, rather than poor administration having the larger say.

I am not saying administration has been inch perfect, but there has been some other factors that have influenced sponsorship decisions. Most companies are facing their most challenging period, recovering from the devastating effects of COVID-19.

Never in the history of the country, has the economy faced such a threat which put the existence of some companies in jeopardy. In a bid to stay afloat, companies have trimmed workforce, tightened their budgets and the immediate casualty are what are considered as non-essential investments. With probably little investment returns realized from sports sponsorships, most companies have scaled down on that aspect. Football has suffered and it is not the only sport. Athletics, despite being the best performing code by miles, has not realized much financial support from the corporates.

Even before the pandemic, there has been little appetite to back sport. While there has been demand that the league committee delivers sponsorship deals, most clubs, save for Township Rollers and Gaborone United, are struggling to get backers. A friend of mine who was in football administration says they knocked at every available door looking for sponsorship and they emerged empty handed. This was despite a well thought out plan of how the sponsors would get mileage.

The current BFL board is made up of astute businesspeople and professionals. So it will be naïve to assume that they are not doing enough to sell football to potential funders. Cheap politicking aside, it must be appreciated that the environment, save for the time when BTC was on board, has never been conducive. Before the coming on board of BTC, the figures were a pittance. Yes, more aggression is needed, but Botswana is a small market and likely, the same people are knocking on the same doors every time. This, at a time when most companies are tightening their purse strings.

The brand of football that teams play should be attractive enough and their own clubs’ administration should be top notch. It doesn’t make sense to demand sponsors from the BFL yet the clubs are not playing their role in ensuring the product is appealing. The fact that the league has sufficient money to start should be appreciated (not celebrated), given the prevailing economic conditions. However, this is not to say the league administrators should be content with the bare minimum. Innovative ways of how to find water in the desert are required.