The past few months appear to have been financially hard for several clubs in the country.
What is even more surprising is that the hardest hit are the so-called big clubs.
Of late, all has not been well at Notwane, Extension Gunners and even Mochudi Centre Chiefs.
The financial straits at Notwane have seen the club part ways with the coach, Look Masomere, who said the club owes him a lot of money.
The club has since admitted and vowed that they will do all they can to pay him.
The situation is even tougher at Lobatse-based side Gunners where players had to boycott training for several days, demanding immediate payment.
As a result, they lost two consecutive matches; something that has really touched coach Daniel Nare.
Nare said once the results do not come at the club the buck would always stop with him despite the situation being beyond his control.
At Centre Chiefs things are not well either and players have threatened to boycott training in the past few weeks. A motivational talk from some senior team officials seems the only thing that keeps the team going.
Just like Notwane and Extension Gunners, several players are rumoured to be on their way out in the January transfer window if the situation does not normalise.
Those that are reported wanting out are senior players who would really leave gaping holes at their respective teams. The supporters of Centre Chiefs and Gunners are the ones who are really disappointed the most because they expected better results this season.
Both teams started their campaign well but the results have since fizzled. The only two big teams that have not been affected by reports of financial doldrums are Gaborone United and Township Rollers.
As a result they have been doing well in their Premier League campaign. The spokesperson for Gaborone United, Romeo Benjamin, told Sunday Standard that they rarely have problems with their players because they pay what they can afford.
“The issue of payment of the players starts with the contracts of players. When we recruit a player we sit down with him and agree to pay him what the team can afford. We never promise what we cannot pay,” he said. Benjamin also added that despite the financial support they have from some companies, the team always engages in fundraising activities to make more money for the club. He said their fundraisings include selling of the team t-shirts at affordable prices to their supporters and even some cocktail dinners.
Benjamin also added that the Premier League should do something to help the teams financially. He said the obvious action they should take is the reduction of the league prize.
“There is a huge disparity between the first prize and the rest of the teams. I think the Premier League should agree with the sponsor and teams to slash the prize. Once that is the case teams should be given grants so that they sustain themselves. I am telling you if that happens, there will be tight competition in our league and players would feel free to move to any team they want,” he said.
