TAFIC celebrate milestone in grand style
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:21
Despite failing to win the league title, TAFIC achieved the milestone, accumulating 60 points for the first time in history and finishing second on the league table.
The club also witnessed about seven players being called up for the national team duty for the first time after a long time. Speaking during the gala dinner, club president, Tshedukani Elijah said strong leadership and a certain amount of dictatorship are necessary for everything to succeed. He also said that things do not always go as planned when there is a lack of dictatorship. Elijah also commended Orapa United and Gaborone United for being part of their celebrations. Throughout the entire season, TAFIC and GU were among four other teams that fought gallantly for the league title. GU eventually snatched it away.
Elijah said that in 2022, Petro Hyper became a sponsor of TAFIC as a means of giving back to the communities they serve. He said TAFIC had a wonderful season not because of a miracle or luck but rather as a result of a lot of work that was done behind the scenes.
“When we came here in 2022, we made it very clear to TAFIC that as Petrohyper, we do not associate or identify with failure. We got goals that we have in the business and any other business that we associate with must show growth and improvement in whatever they do,” added Elijah. He stated that any other organisations linked to their business must demonstrate improvement.
He mentioned that the football team has a three-year plan. According to Elijah, they intended to move TAFIC from the first division to the Premier League in the first year, and everything went according to plan.
He also stated that they were supposed to compete in the Premier League for the top eight in their second year, and they ended up in fifth place.
He said that their goal for the third season was to contend for the league and take-home trophies they could, but regrettably, that plan never materialised.
“Deep down we were looking for anything in top four and we performed well for the league and finished second. It was a significant accomplishment, in my opinion,' he added. He also said that football is an extremely costly sport with little to no financial return. 'That is the nature of the game, but sometimes with very little appreciation from those expected to appreciate,' he said.
Meanwhile, TAFIC chairman, Tumelo Toteng acknowledged that for the first time ever, their players won multiple awards at the end of the season including the player of the year. Toteng also said things improved at the club three years ago when Petrohyper became their major sponsor. He was confident that TAFIC will perform better and win during the next season.