Awards blunders point to internal confusion

Mqondisi Dube | Tuesday June 2, 2026 09:52

The 2025-2026 season now water under the bridge, leaving us lasting memories, in a season in which Gaborone United (GU) bagged a consecutive league title. It has been a largely controversy-free campaign, defying the usual shenanigans which often characterise local football. But as the curtain came down on a memorable season, the ever lurking controversy struck with chilling precision.

Billed to be the cherry on top, the FNB Premiership awards held last week Wednesday, turned into a wet blanket. The adjudicators, or rather the organisers failed to learn from last season when an anomaly was left to pass.

Last time around, the goalkeeper of the season failed to make it to the team of the season. Bizarre but forgivable given that it was the first awards under the FNB sponsorship.

Then this year, the blunders became more brazen and even tripled. Imagine this; the midfielder of the season was beaten to the player of the season award by a midfielder. Confusing, right?

Here is the simplified version. Karabo Phiri was voted the midfielder of the season, meaning he was a cut above the rest in that department. Further, he was voted by the players themselves, as the best player of the season, meaning they saw no other more deserving.

But true to last year's form, the adjudicators, or the organisers, whoever is responsible for the mess, decided otherwise. With Phiri destined for a clean sweep, the cooks somewhere contrived to spoil the broth, by forcing Mpho Kgaswane into the player of the season equation. It did not add up. How does Kgaswane, whom the adjudicators had earlier had admitted that he was below Phiri, suddenly becomes the league's best player. Baffling.

In the other howler, the judges (or whoever was responsible for the anomaly), were unanimous in that Thabo Motswagole of GU, had stood head and shoulders above all goalkeepers last season. They gave him the goalkeeper of the season gong.

But guess what, when it was time to pick the team of the season, Motswagole disappeared without trace and the best goalkeeper, was, out of the blue, now Mochudi Centre Chiefs' Keagile Kgosipula. It's the stuff usually reserved for a magician's show.

But hold it there if you thought the awards had served sufficient controversy. Are you aware that the player of the season, Mpho Kgaswane is not in the team of the season?

And it doesn't end there. The organisers are mum up to this day. They do not care about the negative narratives emerging from this incongruous decision.

It seems they are fine with dishing controversy and then stepping aside, no care about crisis management. If there are different adjudicators for different awards, then this is a classic case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

There is need to harmonise and discuss these selections before parading the ignorance in public. There is an urgent need to put an end to these outlandish decisions.