Notwane’s pain laid bare in Tlokweng defeat
Mqondisi Dube | Friday February 13, 2026 14:06
The pain ran across the fans’ faces and was evident on the players too, but for coach Daniel ‘Chico’ Nare, the result summed up the situation within the Notwane camp.
A cancer that has penetrated local clubs with gay abandon, Notwane are in the middle of a crippling financial struggle that has seen players down tools, whilst there has been an upheaval at the administration level. The result has been a giant of an institution in perpetual decline.
Sechaba are no longer at the big boys’ dining table, instead they have been relegated to the biblical Lazarus role of scrambling for the crumbs that fall from the dining table.
At times, even those crumbs do not reach a club that was so domineering in the 1990s, a sparkling period that has now faded into distant memory. Efforts to retrieve the glorious days have been met with stiff resistance from forces largely emanating from a depleted purse. Without proper financial backing, Notwane are barely recognisable and are now fighting for life in what is an unfashionable second-tier of Botswana’s football hierarchy.
There are no roses to smell in the First Division but only dust, with Notwane firmly in the conversation for possible redeployment further down to the regional leagues.
Unfathomable during the successful Paul ‘Barena’ Moyo era, but now it is a sobering reality. Notwane lie ninth in the 12-team assembly, with 17 points, just two away from the relegation spot.
To highlight Notwane’s mortality, Toronto were an elite side not long ago, 2022 to be precise. That status has slipped from their grasp, and besides their name, the team is now mentioned in the same breath as Tsetseng United.
The Notwane faithful who still follow the team around are not finding any evidence of revival. Tlokweng United confirmed Notwane’s persisting blues with a routine 2-0 shellacking of the slumbering giant on Saturday. That slumber could, in fact, signal a slow and painful death, with football littered with such macabre case studies.
At the Tlokweng VDC ground on Saturday, Notwane were lifeless and meekly surrendered as the home side inflicted another potentially fatal blow. Nare said the defeat was deserved, and more than anything, the match was more of a training session than an official encounter.
“They only started training on Wednesday as they had issues with management. I take this as a friendly encounter in preparation for our next game. We do not have any complaints.
“We did not compete; we were second best. Everything about us was second, second, second. This is the result of not training. Congratulations to Tlokweng United,” Nare said.
He said the aim for now is to save Notwane from relegation.
Tlokweng United coach, Mosimanagape Kanono, was, on the other hand, happy with how his boys implemented the game plan.
“We know that they only started training last week. Physically, they were not going to match our condition,” Kanono said. It does not get better for Notwane as they move from the frying pan into the fire when they visit Jwaneng Young Stars on Valentine’s Day.