Teams shun dressing rooms
Chakalisa Dube | Saturday October 14, 2023 06:00
On Saturday, Eleven Angels and Morupule Wanderers did not have their teams talks in the dressing room in an encounter played at the Serowe Sports Complex.
A similar trend was also reported in Selebi-Phikwe where Gaborone United visited Nico United. At half time, Morupule and Angels players sat on the pitch side to receive instructions and directions from the coaching staff.
The move by teams not to use dressing rooms during the break was widely condemned by supporters and various stakeholders who said it compromises the integrity of the league. The other concern was that shunning dressing rooms does not ensure that teams prepare for matches within a safe and secure environment.
This week BFL operations manager, Patrick Motsepe, said the BFL has been made aware of the two incidents and is addressing them accordingly. “We have already sent a communiqué to the concerned host teams to give us a full report as to why the dressing rooms were not used. That is misconduct,” Motsepe told MmegiSport.
He added that the BFL will be guided by the reports from host teams in terms of what sanctions should be meted out to the teams. “We might as well issue an alert to all teams (in the league) and thereafter that action can be taken against home teams (if dressing rooms are not utilised),” he said.
Motsepe emphasised that the home team is responsible for all match-day logistics, including access to the match venue, access to the dressing room and to the pitch. “It's a matter of handing keys to the visiting team,” Motsepe said.
Premier League teams have a history of not using dressing rooms. It is unclear as to why the teams did not use the dressing rooms in the opening weekend of the league. There was an excuse in the past that some dressing rooms are untidy and therefore not conducive for use by teams. When he took over, BFL CEO Senzo Mbatha said the league intends to come up with a compliance manual that would obligate clubs to keep up with the standards of campaigning in the elite league. He added that there would be penalties against any transgressions.