12 Oct 2016

You will perhaps be pardoned for thinking that teams in the northern part of the country play in a professional and rich football leagues found in certain countries where money smells and feels like fresh ocean air.

In fact, these clubs are not even part of the country’s four most supported football clubs in Extension Gunners, Mochudi Centre Chiefs, Township Rollers and Gaborone United, that rake in thousands of Pula from gate takings every time they play a league fixture.

No! They are not. Some of them kick the pigskin in the usually dusty grounds of the Debswana sponsored First Division North (FDN) league; but don’t be fooled because some of these teams have the means considering that from the technical structures down to the last players, a timely salary is ensured to keep them happy all the time.

From the diamond mining town of Orapa, the Ostriches, as Orapa United Football Club is affectionately called by its legion of fans, is perhaps one of the elite league sides north of Dibete that can be counted among the country’s rich clubs.

With one of the most decorated coaches in local football in Madinda Ndlovu, Orapa United surely did not attract the gaffer cheaply if not to thwart off any chances of the well moneyed southern teams to think of poaching him and his success into their fold.

With all the diamond money at their disposal, the Ostriches, formed out of a merger of the mining town’s former top teams of Orapa Swallows, Orapa Wanderers, and neighbouring Boteti United, is able to compete on the same level as the south rich teams.

The club also has the benefit of the Itekeng stadium in Orapa, a highly maintained turf facility that they use as their training and home ground five days a week; thus they do not have to worry about the dusty grounds used by their poorer counterparts.

In an interview, Orapa United’s public relations officer (PRO) Tebatso Hule said, besides the financial support from Debswana, they also had a commercial wing that takes care of the business side of the team.

Hule said they had a catering company and an entertainment centre that augment the finances received from the main sponsor, Debswana.

“Our set up is that all our players are full time employees of the team and are salaried. The technical team as well is full time, save for a few, who otherwise receive allowances for their role in the team,” he noted.

He further said they also had other sponsors such as Bharon and Werms Southern Africa who also help where they can.

The PRO noted that it was very important for other teams to learn from them and get away fro the idea of being just football oriented sides relying heavily on gate takings alone and not diversifying to find other means of raising funds for their upkeep.

He said their branded bus was always available for the team, adding that they also helped their players with survival skills outside football as sport is usually a short-term career.

Then in the salt producing town of Sowa, another side, Sua Flamingos, which is plying its trade in the Debswana First Division North (FDN) league is also wallowing in money that effectively takes care of its affairs.

The players never worry about failing to honour an away game due to lack of transport or unpaid players refusing to play until their dues are settled.

Sua Flamingoes marketing and communications manager, Isaiah Morewagae noted in an interview that their main and sole sponsor, Botswana Ash (Botash) always ensures that the team has all it needs to deliver on the ground.

“We have a bus availed by the mine for the team and our players also use the mine’s camping facilities prior to their games. We also offer all our players accommodation as well as pay for their utility bills to ensure they have no want,” he noted.

The side also has the Paul Henry stadium, though not turfed, as a training and home ground; the ground is literally their slaughter house because teams more often than not have returned empty handed.

Morewagae said, just like Orapa United, their players were full time salaried employees, save for one player employed by Sowa Town Council, who however also received some allowance from the team for his efforts.

He noted that though Botash was their main sponsor, the company’s management has urged them to look for other means to add to what the company is giving.

They are currently brainstorming on ideas to brand the team as well as popularize it beyond the 3000 strong Sowa Township community.

He said the reason the side was often able to take care of itself was that they never recruited players with empty promises of heavens, something some of the poorer teams often become victims of.

“We promise them what is within our means so that we do not give any false hope of something we cannot provide. Our players start work having agreed to all the terms and fully satisfied with them,” he said.

Another relatively rich side north of Dibete is Mahalapye based BR Highlanders, also in the Debswana FDN, although it was relegated to the lower league at the end of 2015/16 season.

The side enjoys empowerment from Botswana Railways’ passenger train known as BR Express; the club also have little worries about where the salaries for the players and transport to and from games will come from.

In Palapye, another seemingly rich side is Motlakase Power Dynamos that proudly wear and bear the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) logo across their t-shirts, indicating to all and sundry who their backers are.

Having been relegated too from the elite league, these sides have added to the list of Debswana FDN’s rich teams and it will be interesting to see how they fair when they meet each other on the playing field for the 2016/17 season.

Another team, which has made the rich list is newly promoted side to the Debswana FDN league, Morupule Wanderers, which boasts of decorated gaffer, retired Major David Bright.

Obviously the much travelled coach, who has had stints at South Africa's ABSA Premiership and National First Division (NFD) sides would not come cheaply and would need a side with deep pockets to convince him to seat on their bench as head coach.

That they can afford to open a cheque book and sign him as well as any player he wishes for is in no doubt because they have the backing of the coal mining giant in Morupule Colliery.

A team that might exit from the rich list of the north, given the recent developments would be Nico United, a team formed and backed by the now troubled BCL Company. Their name, Nico, an abbreviation of Nickel and Copper, says unequivocally who their sponsors are and they have enjoyed years of backing by the nickel and copper mining company.

It remains to be seen whether the new owners of the mine would continue supporting this football side given the need to gird the loins by companies in these difficult economic times.

A side which has failed to make the rich list of teams in the north but having the potential is Sankoyo Bush Bucks, a team formed by a trust committee of a village in the North West district.

Sankoyo Tshwaragano Management Trust used to back the team back in the days when they made millions of Pula out of their tourism concessions, but since the trust is now struggling to assist the promising club, it is now managed by businessmen based in Maun, some tens of kilometres away from Sankoyo which led by kgosi Apollo Moalosi. Ngurungu, as its supporters affectionately call it, is yet to recover and return to the days it swum in money.

A football supporter, Andrew ‘Druzah’ Modo said he admired how these rich teams were run as companies that strictly know how to go about business affairs.

He said for the poorer teams to catch up with the rich teams, they ought to accept that the days of being societies are over and accept change by turning into companies.

“This will help them to attract sponsors as they want accountability. They will find it easy to source funds as companies,” he said. Modo further said the teams should have an up to date membership data base of fully paid members, which they can use as a bait to attract sponsors who would mostly be interested in return on investment.

Furthermore, he said once teams were run as companies, they would be able to protect their intellectual property in in the team logo and name. He said once the teams know who uses their name and logo on team merchandise without permission, which is a money spinner for most professionally run teams, they would be able to take appropriate action. ENDS