BFA allays women’s league delay concerns
Kabelo Boranabi | Monday August 11, 2025 10:06
First announced in July 2024 by BFA chief executive officer, Mfolo Mfolo, the two-stream First Division of 10 teams per division was meant to reboot the domestic women’s football structure.
It would have marked a major shift from the defunct Super League, scrapped in 2016, and was billed as the elite tier of the women's game, with regional leagues forming the second division.
A year later, there has been little movement nor visibility on the ground something that has left many stakeholders and clubs frustrated.
However, the BFA insists the project has not stalled.
“We will make an announcement after the Ordinary General Assembly billed for this Saturday, August 9. It will mostly depend on the position that the women's football teams, as the primary consumers of the product, will adopt. There is no delay,' Mfolo said.
“We need to start with the right strategy and where there is consensus in the approach in so far as the structure of the league suffices,' he added.
The original plan, as outlined in a BFA circular to clubs last August, had regional champions qualifying directly for the First Division, with second-placed sides heading into a playoff for the remaining slots. The play-offs were scheduled for August 2025, with the league expected to kick off in September.
But with the 2025-2026 football season looming, timelines are now blurred, and some clubs have privately raised concerns over the lack of clear communication.
“The engagements are ongoing. But like I reiterated, after the General Assembly we will have a clearer picture on the way forward,' Mfolo said.
He added that FIFA Women's Football Fund will bankroll the league’s inaugural season, which will serve as an incubation phase as the BFA scouts for local sponsors as no commercial partners have been announced yet.
With the FNB Premiership kicking off next week and the men’s lower divisions returning in early September, the spotlight now shifts to Jwaneng, where the BFA’s Ordinary General Assembly could finally unlock the gridlock surrounding women’s football.