Botswana Football League (BFL) league is still hunting for new sponsors ahead of the new season as the previous sponsorship deals have elapsed.
The BFL 2022/2023 season is ear marked to start on the third week to September.
The issue is expected to form part of the agenda on Saturday when the BFL board converges at Tlotlo Hotel, Gaborone for their annual general assembly. The Assembly is also expected to address the controversies that besieged the league season, among them cashless league, the registration saga, relegation of teams and other thorny issues.
“We are expecting the league to start in the third week of September provided everything goes according to plan,” BFL chief executive officer Solomon Ramochotlhwane revealed. It is not the first time the elite league fails to start on time and the league office often gives excuses saying the either concluding operational and logistical issues.
Asked who will be the league title sponsor(s) he said: “We currently don’t have the league sponsor but we will reveal the sponsors in due course once we are done.”
The BFL suffered an untimely blow this past month as long-term Top 8 tournament sponsors Mascom Wireless announced it was pulling out of sponsoring them. “This is as an outcome of the challenges to our business fundamentals, due in large part to the current socio-economic climate which has resulted in financial constraints and not allowed us to commit the resources necessary for a successful delivery of the Mascom Top 8,’ the company said in a statement.
At in the recent league seasons the BFL premiership teams went home without prize money at the end of the league season. The teams are yet to receive prize monies from the previous league season.
The BFL assembly is expected to discuss reports and introspect on the way forward.
Ramochotlhwane could not confirm whether the five relegated teams will be allow to attend the assembly he said “I am not sure whether they will attend because I don’t know what will happen between now and Saturday. According to the BFL constitution article 6, members of the BFL are those that have complied with club licensing. The five relegated teams that have failed club licensing are, Mogoditshane Fighters, Eleven Angels, Masitaoka, Morupole and Extension Gunners future hangs in the balance. “
Their issue had been elevated to the BFA National Executive Committee for their attention and they might end up pardoning them. Elections are coming so it will back fire because football people are not happy with the decision to relegate the teams” said one source. There are those that say they teams should not be pardon and should serve as deterrent for other teams.
