Mochudi Centre Chiefs acquired Masitaoka's Premier League status on Friday in a deal worth P400, 000 as Majatlhaga face an agonising reality of competing in the Kweneng Division One league. In a supporters' meeting held at the Molepolole Sports Complex, Task Force member, Jiki Segatle said Aryl Ralebala told the Task Force last Tuesday that, the board of Masitaoka Enterprises has taken a decision to seize its operation and would hand back the club to the general membership. Masitaoka Enterprises is a commercial entity that was in charge of running the club affairs. The company was initially given 90% of the club's shares while the general membership held the remaining 10% but later on, Masitaoka Enterprises assumed the club's total ownership.
The Task Force revealed that during their talks with Ralebala, they were presented with three options, to be handed the club with a Premier League status, a First Division League status or Division One league status. The supporters' Task Force Team said they are reeling in shock after they had not approved the sale of the Premier League status while Ralebala had washed his hands off the status sale negotiations. The Task Force had met with former club president and investor, Ralebala early in the week to discuss the future of the club but had not come to a decision and was shocked to learn Masitaoka FC's Premier League status has been sold to Chiefs on Friday evening. Chiefs had proposed a deal P100, 000 including a status swap and also a P400, 000 outright buy offer.
The Masitaoka membership demanded a P600, 000 outright buy and a P400,000 deal with a status swap. Ralebala is said to have used an amount of between P6 million and P7 million in a year for the Premier League and he felt that the general membership would not afford to run the team in the Premier League. "The second option he offered was the First Division and he said he used around P3.5 million, and he said we would face challenges of personnel because most of the players are based in Gaborone. So to move the club to Molepolole was going to be challenging to transport the players on a daily basis for training in Molepolole while the third and last option was a third tier league football status," Segatle said. "Ralebala said he would buy us a team (in the third tier) including its playing personnel.
He then asked us to make a budget of other things we would need like the technical staff and he would use his money to help us hit the ground running in the Division One league. That is where our talks ended and he confirmed he had already engaged in talks with a certain (Division One) club and is willing to help us get started in Division One with his own personal money," said Segatle. The Task Force had rejected the Division One league status and opted for a status swap with Chiefs with an addition of P400, 000. Masitaoka FC have since released all the playing personnel while Ralebala has offered to give back among others, the kits, equipment and also the use of the new club logo.
