11 Oct 2015

Pitch invasion is not in accordance with the rules of the Federation International de Football Associations (FIFA), according to Botswana Football Association (BFA) chief executive officer (CEO), Kitso Kemoeng.

Speaking during a press conference in Francistown recently, Kemoeng said during an AFCON qualifier between Botswana and Burkina Faso, the crowd invaded the pitch follwing the Zebras win.

He appealed to the community not to go into the pitch at any point during the match even at the end of the game.

The CEO said pitch invasion had resulted in the BFA being fined an amount of US$5 000 (about P50 000) by Confederation of African Football (CAF).

He said they were aware of short comings that were encountered in the last game in terms of logistics. 

They promised together with local organising committee (LOC) that this time they would minimise those hiccups and gates would be opened as early as 1500 hours to avoid any congestions.

Kemoeng also appealed to members of the community to come on time and also encouraged parents to avoid bringing along children to the stadium as they occupy seats that people could have paid for.

He said alcohol and other prohibited beverages would not be allowed into the Francistown Spots Complex when Botswana hosts Eritrea on Tuesday evening.

The CEO said the official kick off was 7pm, but they were in contact with appropriate authorities to shift kick off time to 8pm to accommodate live television broadcast.

In response, the LOC vice chairperson, Eatametse Olopeng said they would engage different security companiesto beef up security.

 Olopeng also said the number of street vendors would be limited for easy control.   

The vice chairperson said since the stadium had 13 tuck-shops, they would engage 13 licensed street vendors in those tuck-shops with a fee of P200 and about 30 outside with a fee of P50.

Deputy divisional traffic officer north, Senior Superintendent Pelontle Kesupile said they experienced a lot of traffic during the last game but this time they had taken further steps.

He said they would not compromise the issues of security during the Tuesday game, noting that no one would be allowed to park their vehicles along the road, especially along A3 road (Francistown-Maun road) and doing so would attract a fine of P1 000.

He said the stadium had over 1 300 vehicle parking capacity and vehicles would be allowed to park inside the stadium at no cost. The winner between Botswana and Eritrea will face Mali for a space into the group stages.

 

Tickets will cost P80 for grand stand and P50 for what is called east stand and P30 for stands behind goal posts. The BFA has teamed up with Shoprite Checkers country wide and U-save in Mochudi to sell tickets.  Ends