By now we are all aware of what Covid-19 has done to our football, right? And pretty certain that we all know the importance of gate taking and what support of 10 000 plus people on the stadium can do.
When Galaxy lost 0 – 3 at home to South African giants Orlando Pirates, the local side lost more than just a game.
In a fortnight, the pain of the loss against Pirates will be forgotten, but the pain of the incurred financial losses will start being felt.
Under normal circumstances, for local teams, a fixture against teams of the caliber of Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns, as Galaxy had, is a cash boon.
These South African giants boast of a massive following in Botswana and when they come around, they attract massive spectators to the match venues.
For Galaxy, which would have incurred hefty expenses when they visited Commoros in the CAF champions league preliminary round, these guaranteed money-making fixtures would have almost balanced the cash books.
To put this in proper context, according to one administrator close to Township Rollers, when they hosted Kaizer Chiefs sometimes back, they made around P1.2 million.
“From my rough estimates, of the two games they hosted Sundowns and Pirates, Galaxy could have made a minimum of P1.5 million. Pirates is one of the most supported teams here,” the administrator opined.
The administrator’s estimates are not far off from those close to the Jwaneng Galaxy camp.
A close source to Galaxy has said just like when Rollers hosted Kaizer Chiefs, Galaxy could have made close to P1.2million from the Pirates game and almost the same amount from the Sundowns match.
However, instead, Galaxy will now feel the pain of the COVID-19 induced spectator ban as it faces huge bills for participating in the CAF games.
The source said Galaxy has not had any external help, except from the mine, and had to pay for all the expenses of hosting the match from its own coffers.
“On a normal day a stadium is paid 25% of the gate takings and due to no supporters, the club had to pay P12 000.00 in addition to this they spend P75 000 plus just on transporting and accommodation of match officials; being four referees, match coordinator, compliance officer and CAF medical person,” he said.
In addition to this, the club also had to pay 1 200US$ which is equivalate to P14 000.00 to the match coordinator.
Not forgetting P95 000.00 plus paid to do corona virus tests.
“The mine has been helpful in ensuring that all goes well. It is not mandatory for BFA, BNSC nor MYSC to help the club since everything is on them; for BFA their job is to just facilitate the smooth sailing of the game, but due to the new normal we could have hoped that they speak to the government on behalf for them to assist us or sponsor one or two things,” he explained.
However, as the team is preparing for the second leg with Pirates, estimated prices for the Covid-19 test will be around P38 000.00 for the whole team, accommodation at P149 000.00. and for transport, the mine is said to offer a bus to assist the club.
“This was just a gamble, hoping for a win for the club to at least reach the group stages. The only thing that can be done after not only losing our games but losing financially as well is to close this chapter and move on with life. With hope that two or three players might be signed to these teams,” he said.
