Local football staggers into the abyss

| Wednesday May 1, 2013 00:00

 

The fat is in the fire as local football battles a myriad of challenges against odds. If it were a political party, terms such as 'internal bickering', 'defections' and 'voter apathy' would feature prominently.

The celebrated arrival of be MOBILE as the Premier League sponsor in 2009 ushered in fresh expectations.Prize money rose astronomically from P160, 000 for the league's winners to a respectable P1 million. A year earlier, clubs had committed to a blueprint, the Bosele Declaration aimed at driving football towards professionalism. There was every reason for football fans and other stakeholders to be optimistic that the below par administration of clubs and the game in general would be relegated to the dustbins of history.

But like the proverbial monkey clinging to one's back, administrative problems have dogged the local game with irritating regularity.

Structures have been put in place at both the mother body, the Botswana Football Association (BFA) and the Botswana Premier League (BPL), but evidently, successive leaders are stumbling upon fresh challenges every second.

Player transfersDespite laid down transfer procedures each season has seen a consistent number of wrangles over player transfers.  The Player's Status Committee (PSC) should deal, once in a while, with transfer anomalies but it would seem it has to work on a full time basis as the number of cases climb. The disturbing pattern is indicative of lack of proper structures at club level to effectively deliver seamless player movements. On paper, a player's movement from one club to the other is a simple procedure, but somehow local clubs have connived to complicate it, somehow turning the transfers into a cumbersome business deal.

Club officesA few clubs have heeded the call to have fully fledged offices, this despite a resolution in the Bosele Declaration. Clubs have consistently complained of lack of funding for this state of affairs. However, there is an argument, which refuses to go away. Questions crop up about how the clubs have branded themselves in the face of a financial squeeze, which has seen general support for sport remain low. There is a general view that clubs should do better in order to attract sponsors themselves.

RefereesIt has become almost a norm, rather than an anomaly, that the issue of referees refusing to officiate would crop up any day. Pictures of a Premier League coach officiating a First Division match a fortnight ago are a worrying signal of a house not in order.

Zebras woesThe Zebras might have dragged themselves out of the 'Whipping Boys' category, but should be careful not to fall into the 'laughing stock' heap. Their performances, others might argue, are not of their making with botched preparations and even reports of a coach who has lost the dressing room.

The Young Zebras have a major tournament in April but little has been done to prepare the team thus far. The BFA administration says it will work with the little budget at its disposal to prepare national teams. Sebego, during his campaign rightly said the days of BFA being financially dependent on government should be a thing of the past.

AdministrationAdministrators at the Botswana Premier League are aware how much the image of the local league has been battered, with no reprieve, in recent years. The arrival of Phuthego Setete was seen as a step in the right direction after he had rescued the league a season before the be MOBILE sponsorship arrived. There was often chaotic fixturing, but Setete looked on course with a smoother league campaign starting in 2009.

However, all came crushing this season when Setete was suspended and subsequently dismissed while a litany of other problems came to the fore. The RP Productions deal highlighted how much those in charge of local football could not be entrusted even 50percent, with handling football matters.

Sponsors are now watching from the touchline as administrators cross the border to negotiate with pay TV channel, SuperSport only to return without a firm answer, meaning the league remains suspended. Bennett Mamelodi has been credited with turning the situation around, but he will look back to find a game still on the deathbed. Efforts to rescue the game have only but revealed some new rot whose effects might take ages to smoother. 

The BFA has seen the arrival of new brooms, but they are also battling to sweep clean. The ordinary fan yearns for effective leadership. The current crop is probably squeezing out every sweat from each pore, but the problems keep escalating and suddenly seem insurmountable.

How will BFA president, Tebego Sebego, the BPL CEO, Mamelodi and the BPL board deal with a Premier League season, which has come to a halt and refuses to re-start.

While the administrators were involved in marathon efforts to rescue the game from the abyss, it emerged this week that some members could not keep their fingers away from the purse, though they did so legally. One question that will linger on is: how loans to certain individuals were approved when the fan who struggles to buy match tickets, is made to believe that the BPL is in financial straits?

The right step was taken to boot out individuals who borrowed money from a financially-crippled organ like the BPL, but the damage in terms of reputation has far-reaching ramifications, including scarring away potential sponsors.

There are visible efforts to pull the game out of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), but it would seem there are hidden, severe sicknesses bedevilling the local game.