07 Jun 2015

Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Thapelo Olopeng has warned administrators that they are contributing to declining standards of football through maladministration.

In his key-note address during the Mascom Top 8 Awards Ceremony held at GICC on Wednesday night (June 3), the minister was direct in expressing his dismay with the negativity currently happening to football in Botswana.

Football has recently witnessed a spate of controversies with clubs and administrators seemingly at loggerheads over sporting decisions taken in the past season.

The premier league promotion play-offs were held back by few weeks after Uniao Flamingo Santos challenged the league’s decision to recognise Mogoditshane Fighters as Debswana First Division South runners-up.

After the issue was settled, a massive saga concerning the use of an alleged defaulter by Sankoyo Bush Bucks erupted. The saga plunged the Botswana Premier League (BPL) into crisis with Bush Bucks docked 29 points which effectively relegated them .

But the warring BPL board reinstated the Maun based club in a heated meeting on Sunday May 31.

The circus continued  when the points were docked again before Botswana Football Association president, Tebogo Sebego finally stepped in and announced that the National Executive Committee will deal with the matter.

Olopeng said incidents like these ones are leading to the decline of football and eroding sponsors confidence.

“I am disappointed by the conduct of some of our sports administrators. Lately the performance of football has declined due to a variety of reasons which includes administrators who are self-serving. This has dealt a heavy blow to the performance of football,” he said during a frank address.

He said football was in an upward tract some years ago but this has now been reversed by maladministration.

You may recall that in 1999, we won the Kings Cup in Swaziland followed by the Four Nations Tournament in Molepolole in 2001, and the under-23 Four Nations Cup held in China in 2007. But the question that I may ask today is what is happening to us? Where are we going? Are we going backwards or forward?”

He advised football administrators to work together to support the sport with honesty and integrity saying it will help the sport to grow again.

“I am very concerned about the activity that we read about in media specifically about football. I want to remind you that this does not just affect players and administrators. It also affects sponsors’ confidence. If we don’t pull up our socks and clean our house, we will not attract sponsors,” Olopeng warned.

He said administrators should make sure that they administer sport in a professional manner and with  integrity.  ENDS