06 Feb 2014

Mochudi Centre Chiefs will go ahead with their CAF Champions League campaign even though they are in financial dire straits.

This came after the Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) decided to freeze their seasonal assistance to clubs representing the country in continental competitions. Magosi fly to Harare on Saturday, February 8, determined to emerge victorious in their clash against Dynamos in the CAF preliminaries’ first leg at Harare National Stadium.

The match will be played on Sunday (February 9) at 3pm. Chiefs’ management sid they had made arrangements for their supporters to travel to Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean team ousted Gaborone United from the same competition four years ago. Chiefs’ assistant coach, Odirile Matlhaku said they had been preparing for the fixture since the beginning of the year.

“We have studied our opponents and are aware of how they play. Therefore, our main aim is to win the game and score one or two goals,” he said. Club captain, Pontsho Moloi also acknowledged that they knew what to expect because most of his teammates had played in the continental competition before.

The second leg will be played in Gaborone on February 15. The winner of the tie will advance to face the winner of the tie between AS Vita of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kano Pillars of Nigeria in the first round.

Teams taking part in CAF competitions had in the past received financial aid to help them cover tournament expenses, but the BNSC decided to review the arrangement last year.

BNSC chairperson, Solly Reikeletseng said they were still reviewing the arrangement, adding that they had realised that the money was not enough.

“We decided to review it holistically and we want to see how they can be helped because P150 000 will not be enough as the teams advance to other levels of the competition,” he said.

He emphasised that they were not refusing to assist the teams, but had suspended the funding to peruse it in more detail. He argued that funding should be increased not only for football, but for other sport codes as well.

Chiefs public relations officer, Clifford Mogomotsi said the thought of pulling out of the competition had never crossed their minds. He said the team would pull through this because it was not the first time that they were partaking in the competition. He said they had been engaging with authorities and sponsors for help.  ENDS