24 Sep 2013

Football giants, Gaborone United (GU) and Township Rollers have heeded the call by the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture for teams to construct their own stadia.

The two teams have revealed that they are at different stages of acquiring land on which they will build their stadia. This came after Minister Shaw Kgathi blamed football teams for not supporting sports development by constructing own stadia.

In an interview, GU project manager, Babatshe Paphane said his club’s application for land in a zoned recreational area in Gaborone West was rejected by the department of lands and housing on the basis of direct allocation.

“Our proposal for a stadium plot had the recommendation, blessing and support of Minister Kgathi, the Botswana Football Association (BFA) through the premier league and the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC). Even the Botswana Export Development and Investment Authority (BEDIA) was involved because we were in partnership with an outside investor,” said Paphane.

He stated that GU were still waiting for the land to be advertised so that it could reapply, adding that a local bank was willing to loan them P36 million for the project. Paphane also revealed that GU had bought two fields along the AI road not far from Gaborone with the intention of converting them into a stadium.

“But the problem is that government has suspended the change of land use, particularly for agricultural plots,” he said.

He also stated that GU were going into partnership with Botswana Public Service College (BPSC) to develop the college’s playing grounds for use on sharing basis.

For his part, Township Rollers managing director, Somerset Gobuiwang said the team’s current leadership was committed to ensuring that Rollers had its own stadium. He said the biggest problem was that land was no longer available in Gaborone, adding that the only option left was for the team to seek private land either in Gaborone or outside.

“We appeal to Minister Kgathi to assist us by availing land for the teams,” said Gobuiwang. During a kgotla meeting on September 12, Minister Kgathi said clubs did not have stadia because they were not willing to apply to the land authorities for allocation.

“At this point, most teams could be having their own stadia,” he said. Minister Kgathi added that he wondered why big clubs such as Township Rollers and Gaborone United, which were formed in the early 1960s, still did not have stadia by now. He commended Mochudi Centre Chiefs for being the only football team in the country that had its own playing ground.

On other issues, Minister Kgathi warned that any constituency team that would be caught misusing the money they won from constituency tournaments will be suspended. He said their investigations had revealed that some teams used the money for wrong purposes like buying alcohol.

“I appeal to parents to guide these young people to use the money on sustainable projects that can benefit them and their future generations. The constituency tournament is the gate way to the national team,” said Minister Kgathi. ENDS