Mmegi Sport: What is your overview of the situation since you took over?
Senzo Mbatha: The BFL might have been there in the past under a different umbrella, as the Premier League, but this is a newly found organisation, which I found at its stage of strategy building. If you look at the document, you can see that there is a lot that has been done but there are gaps to be plugged to make sure that it is a good, guiding document to take us forward. In the immediate, we need to deal with the perception and rebranding of the organisation. As you start talking to people you hear a lot of negativity of how in the past corporate has been mistreated. We have started dealing with issues of building confidence. We should not take away the effects of COVID-19, it has hampered the progress of the league. We need to go back to corporate Botswana to plead, not as a charity but as a product that they can use to leverage their marketing programmes and sales acquisition penetration strategies. That’s where our challenge is. You cannot keep quiet and not talk to people because you are still building; that must be parallel. While you are fixing, you have to start asking the corporate world to support the league.
Mmegi Sport: There are concerns over scheduling of matches, particularly midweek fixtures, while most clubs survive on gate takings, should not that be fixed?
Mbatha: I think what needs to be appreciated is that when the dynamics change in the manner in which football is packaged in the country, it forces us as a league to reconsider things. I have meetings with Botswana Television to look at the scheduling of matches. I cannot say upfront that it is something that we need to immediately do, but we need to do some research to establish if it is something to reconsider, say have a match at 1pm and 5pm because we have other competing interests on tv. I cannot say it is something that we are working on, but we have to delve into it.
Mmegi Sport: But the main concern is midweek fixtures, which kick off when most people are at work.
Mbatha: You cannot run away from the complaints that will come with the scheduling of fixtures. But we must be mindful that we do not own the stadiums. One thing that I will be entertaining going forward is to introduce Friday night football. It’s something that we can discuss with the clubs. We need to look at a theme so that people know that Friday night there is football.
Mmegi Sport: What is being done now to make the product attractive and get fans back to stadiums?
Mbatha: We have already started. In the few weeks I have been in the country, we have been running a number of competitions on our social media pages and I have seen a lot of growth in terms of interest in people coming back to the stadiums. In partnership with our member clubs in the promotion of our matches, you have to start somewhere out of nothing that was happening. You expect that those who win tickets bring others along. We need to make noise. When I came in, there was not much meaningful happening. Going forward, we might have a branch winning tickets, say 20 tickets and the condition is that you bring a number of people from the branch to the match. The other thing I have realised is that our matches are not properly advertised. I have an advertising firm to help with the advertising. We cannot rely on one platform to inform our people. From there we will move to radio and television, depending on the resources.
Mmegi Sport: In terms of exerting your influence in this space, how much have you succeeded?
Mbatha: Botswana is a very unique environment, even getting to a point to speak to the right decision-makers in the space of sponsors, is a challenge on its own. I have already started an initiative to get an audience with the right players in the space. My immediate focus is to demystify the thing that football is just one of those; football is an important product that marketing teams of all these corporate can use to leverage their brand and gain market penetration. When I knock on your door, you open the door with the glimmer of hope that I am bringing something to discuss. I think it’s a bit different when you are in other territories where you consult marketing agencies and give them a brief and they will call in when there is a lead. But here, you have to do it yourself with the support of your board if they know someone, then you can start talking to them.
Mmegi Sport: Obviously there has been disturbing news about allegations of match-fixing, at the same time are you not trying to sell your product?
Mbatha: It is a very difficult situation particularly when you are dealing with perception and other nuances that are surrounding your football. But what can you do? You cannot run away from what is happening currently. What you have to do as the league is to ensure that we move away from such reports. This remains an allegation and I read a statement from the BFA that they will be investigating. I am looking forward to that investigation, it can assist to put this matter to rest. I cannot say it is a good thing, it is bad in terms of how we want to move forward as football.
Mmegi Sport: What else have you observed about Botswana football?
Mbatha: Botswana people love their football and I think they also love to play it. The quality is good and overall I am impressed with the standard and level. We just need to professionalise and most recently, we had a seminar with clubs to remind them that we have obligations to fulfill with those who give us money. I am not expecting miracles. I can only do so much by building block programmes that will take us where we are supposed to be. Unfortunately, I come to an environment where there are existing challenges and it makes it even worse when others surface at the most crucial time when you are trying to put things together. We are forever pleading with stakeholders to come forward and assist us. Football has the potential to become an important employer in the country. I will not say it has not been an easy landing; it has been a challenging one. All I ask from the operational side is support. I am sure that we will start the new season on the right footing and that we will get one or two partners going forward. I have had engagements (with potential sponsors) already. I will be travelling to South Africa in May to meet the corporate decision. I want to introduce the CEOs and decision-makers in Botswana to have a get-together with them and maybe invite colleagues from South Africa, especially in the marketing space in football. It is not like they are not aware of what football can offer, maybe they need some inspiration from the well-known players in the same space. I want a discussion with industry players to see how we can assist football going forward.
