14 Aug 2026

Botswana Football Association (BFA) has expressed dissatisfaction with the manner in which the Botswana Premier League conducts its business. Answering questions during a press briefing on Wednesday, BFA president Tariq, Babitseng, said when the current National Executive Committee (NEC) ascended to leadership, they made a deliberate decision to grant the Botswana Football League (BFL) full autonomy.

Another show of goodwill to support the league’s independence, the NEC overturned a standing resolution that would have reduced the number of elite teams to 12, choosing instead to maintain the 16 team format.

Babitseng explained that these structural concessions were explicitly intended to give the BFL the benefit of the doubt and the best possible platform to manage its own affairs successfully.  However, that trust has turned in to disappointment, with the BFA NEC openly condemning the BFL’s daily operational handling. Babitseng said the current state of the BFL, along with the behavior and character displayed by its directors and shareholders, was far from the professional leadership the mother body envisioned when granting autonomy.

He reminded the BFL leadership that while they hold two voting rights within the football structures, that minor administrative leverage did not give them the liberty to conduct affairs as they wished, especially since the Premier League remained the primary face of Botswana football. 

The situation has now attracted high level regulatory scrutiny, pushing the BFA toward taking disciplinary or corrective intervention. Babitseng said that he was currently awaiting a comprehensive report from the Chief Executive Officer and Maokaneng Bontshetshe, who both sit on the BFL board.  BFA president confirmed he had also received an official correspondence from the Botswana National Sport Commission regarding the ongoing instability.

The BFA NEC is prepared to take definitive action once the full board reports are delivered, signaling that the mother body will no longer tolerate governance failures that compromise the integrity of the local game. ends