05 Jul 2020

Botswana Football Association (BFA) has decided to conduct a transformation workshop for 16 premiership teams.

So far Township Rollers and Gaborone United have attended the workshop, which was conducted by FIFA consultant, Ashford Mamelodi of Mamelodi Consultancy.

BFA spokesperson, Tumo Mpatane, said the workshop was meant to drive transformation of Botswana Premier League (BPL) to a professional set up and eventually a more commercial entity.

He said at the moment, focus was to ensure that BPL teams had proper structures and personnel in their ranks.

He said the club management would be trained, followed by the staff, adding that the project would indirectly help clubs achieve licensing objectives, given that the clubs would be drilled in different areas such as professionalisation and governance.

Speaking at the workshop attended by Township Rollers, BFA president, Maclean Letshwiti said the club had a rich history.

He said football was a big global business, adding that ‘unfortunately Africa does not take it as a viable business’, hence the standard of football in Africa being low.

“You know, Township Rollers as it is today, is what Manchester United was in the 18th century, BDF X1 is what Arsenal was, so you can see the gap in transition in football,” he said.

Letshwiti further said Africa was far in making football a business.

However, he noted that BFA had engaged Mamelodi Consultancy to motivate the teams to profesionalise.

He said teams should be cognisant of the fact that, there was a difference between professionalisation and commercialisation, adding that the workshop was all about professionalisation.

“You cannot have a private league as a company, and have clubs that are a mediocrity, a company strength depends on its shareholders, the weaker the shareholders the weaker the company,” he said. Ends