This past week, the Botswana Football League (BFL) chief executive officer (CEO) Senzo Mbatha announced the Botswana Premier League (BPL) will start lowering the number of clubs participating in it.
The intention is to whittle the BPL down from a 16 teams competition to just 12 teams. At the end the 2023/24 season, four teams in the BPL will relegate. Only two teams, champions from both the Debswana First Divisions South and North will be promoted. There will be no promotional playoffs.
At the 2024/25 season, the same procedure will be undertaken. This means that when the 2025/26 league season commences, only 12 teams will make the league. It will mark the achievement of a long-muted motive to cut the number of clubs participating in the BPL.
“A decision to lower the number was long taken before I even arrived here,” Mbatha explains. “It was taken following research which was undertaken to find how the league could be made more competitive,” he adds.
While he was not the initiator of the idea, the BFL CEO believes the decision was taken in the best interest of Botswana football. With the reduction in the number of teams, the meagre resources in the league, both financial and human, will be better utilised for the betterment of the league product.
This process is not unique to Botswana. Shortly after it started with 22 teams in 1992, the English Premier League lowered the number to 20. The move made the EPL more competitive. It reduced the EPL clubs’ match day costs as teams did not have to stretch themselves to complete their fixtures.
Such a reduction meant teams made savings on things such as travel expenses as they play lesser away matches. It also meant reduction in accommodation expenses as well as all expenses associated with playing away matches.
“Right now with our league, we do not have big resources. Teams are struggling. When the league is five matches away from conclusion, one can see how bad they are struggling to complete,” Mbatha observes. “When I arrived at Yanga FC in Tanzania, the number of clubs had been lowered from 20 to 16 to enhance the league’s competitiveness,” he says.
While he did not go into detail, a quick look at the Tanzanian premier league shows the move has paid dividends. The league has become more competitive and is attracting sponsors. At the moment, the winner of the league there wins 600 million Tanzanian Shillings, which is a little over P3million.
“Imagine if the P4 million we had as the BFL was shared among 12 teams instead of 16. Teams would have gotten better prize monies at the end of this past season. Reducing the number of teams will in the future ensure teams get better prize monies which will help them meet some of their obligations,” Mbatha opines.
As much as the move may not be popular, lessons from both the Tanzania league and the EPL shows it may be good for local football. Because of such moves, the Tanzanian league is now among the best in Africa. As for the EPL, it has since gained global appeal and is now regarded as the most competitive and appealing league in the world.
Whether or not this move will make the Botswana league much better as the two above, only time will tell.
