BFL unmoved by club threats
Mqondisi Dube | Saturday October 28, 2023 06:00
There has been an outcry over the decision by the BFL to trim teams in the Premier League. The move will kick in at the end of the current season, with four teams facing the drop while only two will be promoted.
This will mean 14 teams will compete in the 2024/2025 season, but four will drop to the First Division at the end of that campaign. This will see two promoted, reaching the BFL target of having 12 Premier League teams at the start of the 2025/2026 season.
The idea to reduce teams was first mooted during the Bosele Declaration in 2008 and the present administration has moved to put the proposal into action. While clubs are up in arms and have threatened to boycott matches from next week, the BFL chairperson, Nicholas Zakhem, said the train has already left the station. “The decision taken (to reduce teams) will stand.
Teams that boycott will be dealt with according to (our) laws,” Zakhem said yesterday. It is said that the administration is concerned that delaying the decision to trim teams will be counterproductive to the growth of football. However, clubs are adamant that there was no sufficient consultation and want the decision reversed.
“Every year there is a story... Waive Club Licensing and teams do not pay players. Everyone feels that they have to play in the elite league when the means are not there. We can’t allow selfish interests to take over,” Zakhem said. BFL board member, Tebogo Sebego has written a letter to the Botswana Football Association legal advisor, advising him to act on the matter as it could have dire consequences. He argues the decision to cut teams was taken without due process.
“As a director with a legal background, I found it appropriate to use my fiduciary position in the BFL to communicate this unfortunate position. My wish is that you could avert the disastrous situation that lies ahead,” Sebego said in the letter.