Gaborone United (GU) have started this league season like a house on fire.
Three games into the season, ‘The Reds,’ ‘The Wet and The Colourful’ or ‘Moyagoleele,’ (whatever your pick of endearment may be) is yet to lose a game. Better still, the team is yet to concede a goal, the only team to have kept all clean sheets to date.
Off the field of play, GU seems on course to match its on field heroics. Things are looking up for the Reds. The team has recalled some of its disenfranchised former administrators and supporters as it seeks to reclaim its lost glory and reposition itself as the football giant it once was.
And the results are already showing. Following its recent kit launch, GU has done it again. To honour its past and secure its future, the Gaborone giants on Friday launched some new product initiatives to protect its long-suffering supporters and attract new ones.
In a move which must be emulated by fellow competitors in the league, GU has, in partnership with Coverite and Cresta Hotels announced some incentives for supporters as part of its membership activation drive. Coverite will give supporters and well-wishers of GU funeral cover while the partnership with Cresta see card carrying GU supporters in good standing enjoy some discounts when using Cresta services.
In this regard, supporters must also not be left behind. He said over the years, sponsorships have only been geared towards the team and players, while supporters, despite being the backbone of the club, are forgotten.
“For a team to succeed, it has to do well in all areas, not just in the playing field. We are back doing well in the field of play and that should also reflect off the field of play,” GU Brand and Marketing Manager Herbert Letsebe explained.
The GU Brand and Marketing Manager says as the club strives to get better, it also has to pay homage to all its departed legends who have played a big role. As such, for the funeral policies the club has put in place for its supporters, the team has found it fit to name them after its own legends.
“The idea to use the names of our legends, both players and administrators, was to honour those who have departed this world and keep their legacy in the history of our club alive. We have chosen to do this across the team’s various generations,” he explained.
Among the legends honoured are former captains Joseph Phetogo, Wiseman Lesole and Nicholas ‘Lele’ Sebele, with the legendary administrator Willie ‘Pitla Pitla’ Seboni making the quartet as the only administrator.
Letsebe said the move was greatly appreciated by the families of the legends as it is meant to pay them homage. He said they asked for permission from the legends’ families before naming policies after them.
Meanwhile, the GU Brand and Marketing Manager said the hunt for club sponsors and partners is still ongoing.
