22 Jul 2018

Professionalising football in Botswana remains a wild goose chase if clubs do not familiarise themselves with club licensing regulations, Botswana Premier League chief executive officer, Thabo Ntshinogang has said.

Addressing premier league teams officials on July 21, Ntshinogang explained that licensing was introduced as a way to curb maladministration as well as amateurism in elite leagues across the world.

Expectation, according to the club licensing manual, he said was to ensure that clubs had adequate levels of management and organisational administration and improve their economic and financial capability.

He also told club officials that licensing rules also subjected all players to medical tests before signing contracts with clubs.

The manual, which is a dictatorial code of conduct for all premier league teams, he said further encompassed logistical protocols to be observed ahead of any premier league fixture.

On efforts to achieving professionalism, he indicated that key areas would also entail engaging all stakeholders as well as consulting with facility owners given that lack of stadiums had been dominant in the past season.

“The flow of the premier league has in the past been affected by lack of stadiums which resulted in the postponement and rescheduling of some fixtures thus hitting hard on the teams’ financial incomes since it is evident that a lot of teams rely on gate takings as the sole source of income,” he said.

While he admitted that shortage of stadium remained a nightmare, he however assured stakeholders that his office would work round the clock to address the situation in the coming seasons.

Thus, he pleaded with teams to comply with some of the key CAF and FIFA requirements, particularly club licensing, saying stiff penalties would be meted out against clubs that failed to comply.

The country’s elite league is expected to kick off on August 18 and fans from all the 16 teams have reasons to be optimistic for some thrilling ballgame. ENDS