After parting ways with Township Rollers at the end of the 2024/25 football season, the Sebata Group resurfaced with a new kid in the Botswana football fraternity, Black Lions. The Sebata Group is adamant that they want to make this new kid on the block a force to reckon with in Botswana. They say coming to Botswana football was not a temporary plan. Rather, it was meant to be a long-term vision and investment that is geared towards making a positive impact on the community.
Sebata Group Commercial Manager, Mqobile Ndlovu says they will be in the elite league to make an impact in the local football and in African football. “A football kind of a project and vision was not temporary. It was always meant to be a long-term vision and long-term investment in Botswana,” Ndlovu says when asked what motivated them to register and acquire a premier league status after parting ways with Rollers.
He further says “the fact that it did not work out with Township Rollers did not negate the aspirations and aim of the Sebata Group as regards to football and business of football.”
To the Sebata Group, the business of football is not only about making money. It is also about community impact and that has been always the aim of the Sebata Group. According to Ndlovu, the establishment of the new club, Black Lions was not part of the original plan.
“The initial idea was to take Rollers and make them the most successful club in Botswana and also take them back to Confederation of African Football (CAF) competitions. That was the original intention. But as I said earlier, things did not quite work out. We could not find a common ground with regards to certain things and that is the reason why we decided to part ways. Good luck to them. Our aim now is to take Black Lions on a similar trajectory.”
Through the Black Lions project, the Sebata Group’s aim is ‘to build a brand that is loved by Batswana, Southern African and Africans at large.’ “We have to build a brand that is competitive and a team that plays attractive football, a team that is built around community with trust and love and support, a team that gives to the community. That is important to Sebata Group and that’s the vision.”
Black Lions will be based at Royal Aria stadium in Tlokweng. The team has since signed a one-year agreement with facility owners with possibility of renewal at the end of the contract.
Elsewhere, Township Rollers has entered into a 10-year management contract with the Centre for Africa Beneficiation (CAB), as announced last month. Though details of the management contract are yet to be revealed publicly, those close to the team say the partnership involves CAB managing the club, with Township Rollers retaining ownership of the brand and its name. Rollers has promised to share the details of the ten-year agreement during the official launch of the partnership.
