Thursday, February 6, 2025

BFA scrapping bottom of the barrel to keep the premier league running

Botswana Football Association Chief Executive Officer (BFA CEO), Kitso Kemoeng finds himself saddled with extra work and unbudgeted costs following the closure of the premier league office.

Kemoeng told Sunday Standard Sports that the BFA is having to scrape the bottom of the barrel to finance the elite premier league which is expensive to run. “We have discovered that it is very expensive to run the league. We have to provide for the referees and match commissioners and I am having it very tough. It is a big big challenge for the poor BFA,” said Kemoeng.

He said renting cars for match officials was difficult and fueling them was another cost that the association is currently saddled with.  Though he could not state how much they spend per weekend he tried to paint a picture of the expenditure:  Sometimes the BFA has to secure accommodation and provide meals for referees on assignments. League referees are rotated around the country to officiate. For example referees from Gaborone may be sent to Francistown or Phikwe and from Selibe Phikwe to Maun. Although the rotation system was a welcome development, it came at a great cost. The system was devised to ensure that referees do not favour home teams and to eradicate that perception.

Kemoeng explained that they could not access premier league money because the accounts have been frozen and the mother body has an obligation to ensure that the league runs and comes to an end smoothly. “If the BFA cannot run the league it will be considered a failure on part of the association”, he said.

“Running the premier league is an extra burden to BFA and I wish I could be relieved of the league as soon as yesterday,” said Kemoeng.

On the league office debacle, Kemoeng said “dialogue is still on going.” He would not discuss details, referring other questions to the BFA president Tebogo Sebego. 

The Premier league board closed the offices of premier league following allegations of misappropriation of funds. The premier league CEO, Bennett Mamelodi and his personal assistant have been suspended pending investigations on the matter.

The league is down to three games and if the premier league mess is not resolved soon, the BFA would have to dig deeper into their pockets to finance the remaining three matches.
 

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