When the current Gunners’ committee came into office, their aim was to unite the membership of the ailing Lobatse giants and bring back glory days. Almost six months down the line, it is the same old story at Gunners. The club’s chairman, William Maboane, hinted that factions at the club have chased away potential sponsors.
“There are people who are interested in helping out financially but some of the negative things which are reported about the club have made them stay away. Some of them have asked us to put our house in order then maybe they’ll consider something,” said Maboane.
He referred to a recent situation where players boycotted training for almost two weeks over unpaid salaries. He said the situation where some of the supporters continue to use players to pursue their interests is not helping in their endeavour to rebuild the Gunners’ stable.
“The supporters must understand that we’re doing our best to rebuild Gunners. This is the club we all love and some of these negative things will not help our cause,” he added. The Gunners’ boss urged the supporters to put their differences aside for the sake of the club.
In order to destroy the factions at the club, Maboane pointed out that they have appointed Abdul Kgengwenyane as the publicity and marketing officer. He replaces Cassim Dada who was elected at the general assembly but has never been there for the club.
“We’ve been searching for an able person to be our spokesperson and we want to believe that Abdul is the right person. He has been part of the Gunners’ family for long and he’ll be able to help us reconcile the factions,” said Maboane. Kgengwenyane is expected to be introduced to Gunners’ supporters during their game against Notwane at SSKB Stadium in Mogoditshane today. Those close to Gunners’ camp say that though none of the past publicity officers will ever come close to the pedigree of Kitso Dlamini, they believe that Kgengwenyane would be able to perform the duties of the club efficiently.
“He’s respected by many Gunners’ supporters and he has worked hard for this club,” said one supporter.
On other issues, Maboane said that they have put in place a strategic plan which has been adopted by the committee. All that is left according to him is for the plan to be freshened up. He said that their intention is to change the way Gunners is run in their bid towards professionalism.
Last weekend, when Gunners hosted Mogoditshane Fighters in their 3-2 loss, they introduced online ticketing. Maboane, who is a professional accountant, believes that online ticketing will help the club to account for every thebe which goes into their coffers.
“This online ticketing is the way to go not only for Gunners,” he added.
