07 Dec 2015

Teams have been advised to observe and abide by constituency tournament rules and regulations.

Speaking during a meeting in Bobonong on Thursday December 3 3, Bobonong Youth Committee chairperson, Albert Madome said constituency tournament is a mass participation programme of the government of Botswana that is played on a tournament basis yearly.

He said it is a must for teams to abide to the tournament rules and regulations to avoid penalties.  

He said where there are not more than five teams in a council ward, teams shall play a round robin system whereas where there are more than five teams in a council ward teams shall be grouped into pools and winners from each pool will play each other so as to have a champion.

Madome further stressed that in the event of a ward having one team in any given sport code, the team shall either qualify for the next match stage without the prize money or use the nearest neighbour index to qualify for the next round.

However, where there are at least two teams in a ward, they will play against each other with a view to determine a champion, he emphasised.

Madome said each team is allowed to register up to three players who are employed and can only field two employed players in a game.

Player who gets employed during the duration of a cycle is allowed to take part until the cycle elapses, he continued.

Madome said school going pupils or students from primary to tertiary institutions are not eligible to compete in the tournament but only Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning (BOCODOL) students are allowed to participate.

He also added that youth awaiting Form 5 results shall register for participation in the coming cycles provided they have completed studies while registration was ongoing. 

Madome also advised teams and players to respect officials during the tournament, highlighting that any team or player who displays bad manners or attitude will be suspended.

He stated that players who drink alcohol during or before the game will also be disqualified from the tournament.

Madome noted that the second round of the constituency tournament will start on the 5th December. For his part, one of the participants Lepadile Keitshekile complained about referees.

He said in the previous constituency tournament there were incidents where referees were not conducting games well.

Keitshekile said some referees did not have an understanding of the game while some had favouritism.

He advised the committee to look and take the issue of referees seriously or else it will kill the flavour of the constituency tournament. ENDS