Jwaneng Galaxy’s frenetic gallop towards a second successive title received a jolt in the form of a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Masitaoka at the weekend. Despite the setback, the diamond miners look poised for another shining moment as they hold a two-point and game-in-hand advantage over their nearest pursuers, Township Rollers.
While at the top, it is full tilt towards the finish line, at the extreme end it is an ugly brawl for survival. The north, after enjoying a stress-free end to the 2022-2023 season where none of its members were relegated, finds itself with two teams occupying relegation spots. Three teams will go down to the First Division at the end of the season.
The bottom two will drop straight down while the third will get another survival chance via a relegation-promotion playoff pitting two sides from the First Division. If the campaign were to end today, the north, through Nico United, would lose a member while the south would face the same fate as Holy Ghost occupies the second of the three relegation spots. Morupule Wanderers, a team that has surprisingly struggled since promotion to the Premier League in 2019, will go to the playoffs. As it stands, the north has two teams in the relegation spots, but Eleven Angels are not too far off from the crime scene.
The 16-team league has traditionally been south-heavy and north-light, with the southern teams in the majority. This is largely due to the influence of the capital Gaborone, where most resources are located, and this has extended to the number of teams found in the city or greater areas. Last season, the south had 11 teams in the elite division while the north had five: Orapa United, Eleven Angels, Nico United, Morupule Wanderers, and Sua Flamingoes. With all five representatives surviving relegation last season, it meant the north was guaranteed at least six teams in the 2023–2024 season.
This was achieved as TAFIC was promoted, but Chadibe missed out by a whisker in the promotion playoff as it was VTM that bade farewell to the First Division and climbed to the Premier League. The relegation of three teams from the south — Extension Gunners, Mogoditshane Fighters, and Prisons XI — marginally loosened the zone’s ‘majority’ grip as the north now has six members. The status quo is expected to remain for the foreseeable future as the north battles against the odds to even the ledger. For the league to have equal numbers, it means the south has to shed three teams, through relegation, which will leave the region with seven plus one that will gain automatic promotion from the First Division South. This will again rely on the First Division North representative winning the promotion playoff.
This appears to be still miles away, but the north has eaten into the south’s numerical advantage, thanks to last season’s relegation matrix. However, last season’s gains for the north could be reversed as Nico and the Wanderers remain active participants in the relegation dogfight.
Add Eleven Angels to the mix, and the north could end up giving up at least two slots. But what will comfort the north is that all three teams in the relegation scrap still have a realistic chance to move out of the red zone and beat the drop. There is an added incentive of staying up as starting next season, the league will receive a cash injection of P28.5 million from the First National Bank Botswana. The BFL recently sealed a three-year deal with the commercial bank, but the contract kicks in next season and with cash on offer, there will be everything to fight for. Jwaneng Young Stars from the First Division South and any of Motlakase Power Dynamos and Sankoyo Bush Bucks will make it to the Premier League.
