Fighters in dire straits
Larona Makhaiza | Saturday November 26, 2022 06:00
Coach Ofentse Mapeu has spoken out on the hardships they go through as a club because of this situation the BPL finds itself in. “We are really finding it difficult to do well in this league as the club currently does not have any sponsors that can help with the daily costs,” he told Mmegi Sport.
Mapeu said his side only trains once or twice a week and prior to their last two games against Police XI and BDF XI they only trained once. The Botswana Football League is struggling to attract sponsors while authorities have argued that clubs should be self-sufficient after being granted full license to play in the league.
The league has no title sponsor and clubs are not receiving grants as a result. The significant amount came through broadcasting rights after the state broadcaster paid P23 million for the next three years. Mapeu said Fighters have not faced a financial challenge of this magnitude in recent times as they have always relied on grants to carry them through. “The grants that we have been receiving over the years did really play a pivotal role when it comes to the daily businesses of our club but now we can’t even afford to take players for training as before as we do not have the means to do that.
The challenges do not end there as we battle with providing first aid kit, paying players' rentals and even providing them with soccer boots,” he said. Fighters are not the only club battling financial challenges as Masitaoka and Eleven Angels appear to be fighting a similar demon. Eleven Angels recently sent an SOS on social media asking for donations as the club struggles to make ends meet. Masitaoka have been forced to cancel match day camping and meals after issuing out a memo, arguing it was meant to ensure the team performs to expectation.
“Management has taken the decision to cancel all match day privileges of camping before matches,” the club said in the memo.