Footballers who want boxing know where to go

Mqondisi Dube | Monday April 3, 2023 16:00

I guess BoBA will welcome new members to its ranks to help grow the sport.

The likes of Matebele FC’s Kenalemang Neo would do well by applying for the BoBA membership. If they feel they have outgrown the amateur ranks, which fall under BoBA, there is a professional boxing body right here in Botswana. Football must be about football and nothing else. That pitch, while square like a boxing ring, is not one. On Saturday, an enraged Neo mistook his goalkeeping gloves for those of boxing.

Neo was the source of a brawl that broke out between Matebele and Matebejana at the Holy Ghost Park on Saturday, adding to already existing concerns over the frequency of hooliganism at football matches.

Not too long ago, Broadhurst United and Uniao Flamengo Santos also flexed their muscles. Then there was the viral video of some fans literally hounding former Mochudi Centre Chiefs coach, Daniel ‘Chico’ Nare out of his job. Unpalatable words were used. Authorities are in the hunt for sponsors and they need a clean product in order to market and sell the game to potential partners.

But how is that possible with the regular occurrence of boxing bouts at football matches? Who wants to leave their home and return with a blue eye from a football match? Are we not supposed to take our children to a family outing and enjoy a good football match? How do we tell children football is a beautiful game when all they read about on a Monday morning is about players exchanging blows while fans are also major actors in the ugly scenes. The First Division, particularly in the south, appears to have blood-thirsty fans and players. Arguably, the First Division South is more competitive than the one across the Dibete cordon fence. Emotions are therefore, likely to run high which is what gives birth to the frequent fights between supporters or players. The other challenge at First Division venues is security.

For starters, no competitive football must be played on those grounds; it is outright criminal that they are still regarded as match venues. The time has come for authorities to take steps to address these challenges. The First Division is the second tier of football in the country and that should start reflecting on how it is administered. Not too long, South Africans were making fun of a picture of Sifiso Myeni pictured against a background of some barren ground. Maybe that should spark a mindset change and get First Division football played on turfs. It might take time but there should be a clear path and strategy to achieve this within a stipulated period. It cannot be business as usual when people are crowded in some empty space, which is mischievously called a football ground.