From the deep central district of Botswana up to the Northwest of the country, there are seven Premier League teams. It is definitely a historic representation of the regions and a positive development since Premier League teams’ accessibility is spreading across the country. Previously it was only teams from Gaborone and surrounding areas, and Francistown.
The current Premier League teams in those regions are BR Highlanders (Mahalapye), Motakase (Palapye), Nico United (Selibe Phikwe), FC Satmos (Selibe Phikwe), Orapa United (Orapa), Ecco City Green (Francistown) and Sankoyo Bush Bucks of Maun. Of the seven teams, only Orapa United and Sankoyo seem to be doing well and even stand a better chance of finishing in the top eight bracket.
Sankoyo has surprised many people with their superb form in their maiden season and for that matter they are the most travelling team because Maun is very far from other towns. By the beginning of the season, many people thought they would always be worn out and drained because of travelling but they seem to have defied that notion. For other teams it is indeed bad news and if they cannot pull up their socks they might find themselves in the lower divisions next season.
However, the most surprising are the teams from Selibe Phikwe. Last season they were doing well and they retained most of their key players for the current campaign. On his part, football analyst, Fobby Radipotsane, told Sunday Standard that the resource factor is playing a major role in the unimpressive performance of teams from the central up to the Northwest part of the country.
“Most good players in Botswana are based in Gaborone because they are paid decent salaries by their teams. Other teams are just developers and feed those teams that are mainly based in Gaborone,” he said. Radipotsane also added that players in Gaborone are exposed to good facilities compared to others from other areas. “For instance, most players especially those playing for Gaborone teams are more fit than others. This is mainly because they are exposed to good gyms with qualified physical trainers,” he said.
