Botswana Premier League (BPL) champions Gaborone United is looking on course to take a leaf off Mochudi Centre Chiefs’ book and privatise.
At its recent General Assembly, team supporters resolved to give the club leadership a go ahead to privatise. They believe privatization will help the team turn professional and make it financially viable.
Should it go ahead, privatization will see the Gaborone outfit change its status from a society into a private entity.
“The team will be registered as Gaborone United FC PTY LTD. The decision was taken by general membership after many consultative engagements,” GU’s secretary general Pelonomi Bantsi explained.
The GU secretary general further reiterated the belief of supporters that privatizing the team will assist and enable it to be run like any commercial entity and can thus improve its fortunes. “We are optimistic that the team will now run like a company that will bring profits and improve on the fortunes of the team going forward,” he observed.
Bantsi futher explained that as a starting point towards privatization, ‘the general membership has resolved that 80% of the new entity’s shares will be given to the current team financier Nikolas Zakhem, while 20% will remain with the team.’
“The general membership felt that since Zac has been assisting the team in the past, he should be given 80% of the shares as investor. This is because he has been committed to the team and financially helping it,” he revealed.
Of recent, Moyagoleele as GU is commonly called, has seen its fortunes rising as Zakhem continues to pump money into it. In the past, he had also been very instrumental in keeping the team afloat when called upon.
Through Zac financial support the team was able to attract the country’s top players who eventually won the league for the Gaborone city giant.
Concerning supporters’ involvement post privatization, Bantsi said the resolution is that GU structures will be maintained. He said they will still be relevant in making decisions and coming up with ideas that will improve the stature of the team.
The GU secretary general is adamant that the team collectively will be able to do things professionally and attract key stakeholders that will be vital in bring glory to the team.
If the privatization is successful, hope is that the team will be able to avoid the financial struggles faced by the majority of teams in the elite premier league.
