Never in the history of Botswana’s Premier League has the amount of prize money at stake for the teams been as high as in the current situation.
This year’s champions will win a staggering P1 million while the last team will take away P 100 000.
Last year, the first prize was a paltry P120 000.
The amount of money at stake this year has caused the league to be highly competitive.
What is even more interesting is the fact that it looks as if the contest will go down to the wire and the league championship being decided in the last game – something that was not the case in the past three seasons.
Three years ago, Police XI were clear favourites from the onset and the following season it was Ecco City Green.
Last season, it was Kgatleng-based side, Mochudi Centre Chiefs.
This year, Centre Chiefs are back against Gaborone United.
With two games left before the league is decided, there are already reports of dirty tactics by one of the competing teams to disadvantage the other.
Information reaching Sunday Standard is that GU is the ones at the receiving end.
Even though the team is economic with information, Sunday Standard has learnt that the team’s camp has been infiltrated by enemies in order to cause instability.
The target is the players who are allegedly given money by outsiders to either perform below par or fake injuries.
The team management reportedly averted the situation before things got worse.
When pressed for comment, the team’s secretary general, Kagiso Sebele, did not want to say much, saying the issue was monitored by the team chairman, Doctor Fedelis Nkomazana.
Doctor Nkomazana would also not want to say much, saying the team’s current focus is the league, which they want to win after many years of dryness.
“Our focus right now is to win the league and we do not want our players to be distracted in anyway. We are at a very critical moment whereby every little thing counts,” he said.
When pressed further, Nkomazama stressed that there are many bad things happening in local football and some of such things affect his team. He also revealed that there are even dirty tactics going on aimed at his team.
He did not want to point fingers at the culprits but insisted that their focus is the league championships.
“There are many terrible things affecting our football and if they go unchecked, they will have terrible consequences in the future. Some of us are professionals and we do not want to associate ourselves with them. Some of those things are concerning us but our main focus is to win the league and we do not want to lose focus. We want to deal with things in a rightful manner,” he said.
Mochudi Centre Chiefs are the only team giving GU a run for their money and many people are wondering whether the team is the one involved in dirty tactics against GU.
Despite the team’s successful run in domestic competitions last year and this year, it has never shied away from controversy, especially where money is involved.
Before the weekend, both teams were left with three games and GU was leading Centre Chiefs by three points meaning that the title race is still wide open.
