Lack of funds stalls women’s league
Kabelo Boranabi | Saturday July 16, 2022 06:00
The just-ended football season was the most successful for the women's game since the dismantling of the Super League. A total of 55 teams in seven of the BFA's 17 regional structures competed in the 2021-2022 DTCB Women's Football League.
The inaugural DTCB Top 8 Championship was the dessert of what was a very appetising season for the women's game in five years. The women's game is now expecting an influx of new teams, following an order by CAF that the men's teams will need to have a women's team structure to participate in inter-club continental competitions.
Speaking to Mmegi Sport recently, the BFA women's football manager, Tsholofelo Setlhoko said the women’s game is ready to welcome a large number of new entrants. She said although the development is highly motivated by the CAF resolution on the men’s team, it is a welcome one for the progress of the league structures in the local women’s game.
Setlhoko admitted that lack of resources remain a stumbling block in the formation of the First Division South and North leagues, the next step towards the establishment of a national league. “It is a great increase for mass participation for women's football because that is what we want. It is also important to come up with a strategy to see now how we can be able to control and manage these teams that we will be having in women's football. “In the future, I think what will be an interesting sight is to have First Division south and north leagues for the women's game but only until such a time when we have enough funding to say we are able to form a national women's league. We need resources for travelling and all. Those [activities] need funds.
I want in the future that what I want, especially with the introduction of club licensing for the women’s game for Botswana, to have a national women’s league,” Setlhoko said. She added that massive strides have been made by the BFA towards the formation of the women’s national league. She said amongst others, the BFA has introduced referee wages for the women’s league games, the training of coaches with a CAF C licence is next on the menu, and the training of administrators coupled with the distribution of the football equipment among the teams. Premier League clubs including Police XI, Jwaneng Galaxy, and Masitaoka among others have in the past few months held trials in a bid to form women’s teams.
Mmegi Sport also notes that the Gaborone City Regional Football Association is mulling over the idea of forming a Division One league for the women’s game. Teams that finished top in the past season will form part of the new structure while the bottom teams will form the Division Two league. Setlhoko said it would be imperative for the clubs to afford the women’s teams the necessary support and pleaded with the private sector to lend a hand.