18 Aug 2021

Kgosi Mokhutshwane Sekgoma, a Township Rollers elder, says the COVID-19 pandemic has silenced  the emblematic shout of ‘up the Blues’ from not only the northern stands of the National Stadium but other stadia.

Popa aka Mapalastina supporters used the slogan as a rallying call to boost their players’ morale and demoralise the opposing team.

Giving a brief history of the team during its 60^th anniversary celebration in Francistown recently, Sekgoma said the team’s colours of blue, white and yellow had a rich meaning. 

He said the blue represented dominance since the team dominated like the skies, while white shone like the stars and the sun and colour, yellow, showed that the teams was God’s creation meant to display tolerance, endurance and stamina.

He said the colours drove and embodied the intentions of the team to be the best. 

Sekgoma said the logo depicted the streets of Gaborone around the Main Mall, including part of the government enclave, signifying their urge to dominate.

The slogan, Sekgoma said, displayed all types of rollers used for construction citing that during construction, one levelled the ground, compacted it, made it firm and where the roller passed, there would be no obstacle or rough surface.

The team’s chief executive officer, Bennett Mamelodi, informed supporters that the team would soon launch its new coach and foreign players.

Mamelodi said they wanted to participate in CAF competitions with full might.

He, however, complained about low number of registered members, which he said was now at about 1 000 and urged them to start a recruitment drive and register at least 10 000 members. 

He said that would attract more sponsors,  which caould make the team reach greater heights.

The team’s veteran, Kaizer Freeman, said Rollers had grown and urged other teams to benchmark from them.

Township Rollers chairperson, Walter Kgabong, said the former management had united the team, adding that they also believed in youth development and job creation. ENDS