03 Mar 2015

For a while now, new comers to the country’s top league often face a mammoth task of survival in the money spinning be Mobile Premier League.

The rookies are often faced with some sort of culture shock as they try to fit in to the top league played either in artificial or genuine turfs at various stadia in the country.

They are often shaken to the bone when facing the country’s football giants in the mould of Township Rollers, Mochudi Centre Chiefs, Extension Gunners and Gaborone United (GU), who command a large following of football fanatics noisy enough to mess their game plan on any given day. 

First Division teams have come to the Premier league and found the going getting tough, ending up relegating back to their dusty and hard surface grounds.

It often takes a lifetime for them to make a comeback and rub shoulders with the semi-professional teams.

But this season, the 2014/15 edition of the be Mobile Premier League shows that the newly promoted team, Sankoyo Bush Bucks and the previous season (2013/14) entrants, Orapa United, that both came from the First Division North are determined to be in top flight football for a while.

Sankoyo, affectionately called Ngurungu by its loyal supporters has already claimed the scalps of giants such as Gunners and GU in the second round while managing a draw with defending champions, Rollers in the first round.

A weekend fixture for Rollers away in Maun with Sankoyo is going to cause headaches for many of Popa Popa’s loyal fans, who are going to keep their fingers crossed that they do not suffer the same fate of Gunners and GU.

Pound for pound, Sankoyo does not present itself as a team new in the top league, as it continues to make many teams sweat a beat and behaves like a seasoned campaigner. 

Their determination, organisation and hard work has seen them now occupy the top eight spot in the league, overtaking long time campaigners such as Gunners, Notwane and Ecco City Greens. 

The team is enjoying tremendous home support, which often sees the Maun Sports Complex filled to the brim and they also play with much courage even when they are hundreds of kilometres away in Gaborone, Lobatse or Molepolole.

Another rookie, though already a season ahead of Sankoyo in the be Mobile League is Orapa United, affectionately called the Ostriches.

The team from the diamond mining town is currently seating comfortably at the third spot, breathing heavily on the necks of Rollers and Centre Chiefs.

A team formed by merging various teams in Orapa to form one strong entity has shown signs of giant killers too and they come across as a team well run and focused.

The duo is set to follow in the footsteps of Ecco, who not only graduated to top flight football, but went all the way to winning the league at some point.

If they could remain focused and avoid the success curse, which often rules most of the local football teams leading to conflicts within management, then they could go on to achieve success.

It would be interesting to see the duo lifting the be Mobile Premier League trophy at some point, having annihilated league giants and shaking things up, changing the status quo in the process. ENDS