Boitumelo Khutsafalo
3 September 2008
The 2008-2009 Premier League season is expected to start on September 19. This, however, might only be possible if the Premier League Committee (PLC) succeeds in getting sponsorship this week.
PLC secretary, Setete Phuthego confirmed to Mmegi Sport yesterday that talks are still ongoing with a potential sponsor. He expressed hope that a deal will be sealed this week. He added that even though the negotiations have taken long, they still believe that the league will finish on time if it starts on September 19.
He is hopeful that the shortage of stadia because of renovation of three facilities will not affect the running of the league. Last season, we started the league around this time and we had the most hectic schedule for the national team but we still managed to finish on time.
This coming season, the schedule for the national team will not be very tight since most of the World Cup/AFCON qualifiers have already been played,he said.
For sometime, there have been reports in the local media that the Botswana Football Association (BFA) is about to seal a multi-million league sponsorship deal with a foreign company.
Extension Gunners spokesperson, Cassim Dada said that the long period of negotiations is adversely affecting clubsfinancially.Some of us do not have sponsors and depend on gate takings to pay the players salaries but at the same time we would like to respect what they (PLC) are doing. They have been mandated to do that and negotiations for sponsors take time, he said.
He added that it will be very good if the PLC agree with the sponsor and put pen in to paper this week. We would be able to plan well knowing the specific date the league starts, he added.
Mochudi Centre Chiefs communications manager, Clifford Mogomotsi concurred with Dada that clubs depend on gate takings to pay players. He added that clubs make budgets with the knowledge that the league would start 21 days after the BFA convention, which is apparently not the case. He said the lack of activity is affecting players' fitness.
At least with us, we will be playing in Independence Cup organised in our region. But what about the clubs in Gaborone And some of these clubs have not been active for a while and only play friendly games, which are not enough to cover the bills.
"The players will also get rusty, he said. Mogomotsi expressed hope the BFA will clinch a sponsorship deal this week so that the league can start soon.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Mmegi/The Reporter. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
