02 Jun 2019

A cordial working relationship between Botswana Premier League (BPL) and Football Union of Botswana (FUB) can grow football in the country.

In his address during the FUB congress in Gaborone on June 1, BPL chairperson, Jagdish Shah, decried that though FUB and BPL should be working closely together, there was a gap that needed to be bridged.

He noted that FUB represented professional footballers’  employment related matters, while the BPL relied on players to exist.

“FUB is all about welfare and I admit that there have been a few problems as up to last year most clubs were given provisional licencing and we have not enforced it,” he said.

He pointed out that BPL was committed to providing a healthy setup for players by providing room for dialogue.

He stated that all the premier league clubs must be licensed and the exercise would be wholly implemented.

Shah warned that clubs, which would not adhere to the requirement, would automatically relegate to lower divisions.

He said this exercise would help BPL ensure that as of next season, no player would go without a pay.

On other issues he divulged that BPL had secured an insurance policy with Hollard, which would cover all the premier league players for on the field injuries, thus easing a burden on the clubs.

He urged all the teams to put the interests of their players first by having schemes such as workman compensation.

Meanwhile, FUB president, Onalethata Tshekiso, said they were irked by a situation whereby the BPL allowed the league to start while some teams were still owing players.

He also urged clubs to take the welfare of players seriously, saying they should know that insurance was important in cases of injury or death, lamenting that unfortunately there was still a dependence on contributions whenever such eventualities occurred. ENDS