The Botswana football landscape is awash with struggling teams. For all teams, including those in the top tier league, financial stability and self-sustainability continue to be an elusive dream.
Sponsorships are at a premium. Sources of income like gate takings and merchandise do not make the cut. Short of sponsors, teams mostly need rich daddies for survival. But this also is not sustainable.
With such a harsh landscape, most teams live hand to mouth. Failure to meet financial obligations, including monthly dues for players are rife. Given the current circumstances, teams are now forced to think outside the box to achieve self-sustainability.
One such team is VTM FC. At the end of the 2023/24 league season, the club looked destined to fade into oblivion. Burdened by the rising costs of sustaining a team in the Premier League, owner Vincent Mafuta announced the team ‘was ceasing its operations as a professional football club.’
Promises of sponsorships and partnerships, which ultimately never sufficed, however kept the team alive. Now with an understanding of the unforgiving landscape of Botswana football, VTM FC is looking for alternative pathways to achieving sustainability and financial stability.
VTM FC is now a company, duly registered under Botswana’s company laws in May 2024. Recently, the team announced that it has now ‘been officially granted registration codes by the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA).’
According to Mafuta, the registration will enable the club to conduct business in Botswana. “This milestone aligns with the team’s long-term strategy to achieve financial stability and maintain its position in the Botswana Premier league.”
“The approved codes cover various sectors, including event management, entertainment services and general supplies – laying the groundwork for diversified revenue streams beyond football,” a statement from VTM owner Mafuta explains.
And that is not all. VTM FC ‘also plans to apply for membership with Business Botswana.’ It also seeks to ‘pursue future listing on the Botswana Stock Exchange.’ If all this comes to fruition, it will showcase a very bold move by the club to achieve sustainability.
As it is, VTM FC’s path to sustainability marks a departure from the usual norms of football business. Worldwide, clubs’ definition of maximising revenue streams off the pitch means through other football related activities. These normally include hospitality packages and premium seating as well as striking broadcast deals with streaming sites and broadcasters, just to mention a few. This approach ensures football clubs continue to grow as business while keeping their roots as sports businesses.
With VTM FC however, their approach shows intent on dipping hands on business far from football. Though far from the norm, the plan shows as a well thought approach to sustainability.
As a small club with a small fan base, albeit a fast growing one, the club cannot rely on football’s traditional sources of income like gate takings and merchandising. Their still growing fan base means they can not sell enough match day tickets or merchandise to significantly boost their revenues. This therefore called for an approach that could help the club generate monies to keep operational without dipping too much into the pockets of its owners.
Whether this approach will allow VTM FC to break the mold of unsustainable over reliance on rich financiers by clubs, as witnessed by big boys in Botswana’s elite league, only time will tell.
