Clubs are struggling and dying in plain sight but there is no dialogue

Mqondisi Dube | Tuesday June 16, 2026 10:27

The remaining ones are struggling to stay afloat while others remain standing in name only. There has been one deadly killer which is found as the common denominator across an unforgiving terrain- financial constraints. The disease starts eating into a club in full public glare until the last days when only a skeleton remains. Ultimately, the once beast of a club crumbles into the ground, never to rise again and sadly the community moves on amid a macabre atmosphere. Despite ignoring the catastrophe, the death of a whole institution leaves a huge gap. For all the warning signs sadly, there has been little public dialogue about what is happening.

Those entrusted with the running of football in this country should be very worried. They should lead the dialogue which has, up to now, largely been reserved for social media commentary mostly by people with little influence on football matters. The death of a football club does not affect its immediate stakeholders like the owners and supporters, it disrupts the entire football ecosystem. By now, one would have expected a symposium which seeks to find firm answers and long lasting solutions to a scourge eating right into the heart of local football. When you are Gaborone United (GU) you might laugh your lungs out at the dark cloud hovering over Township Rollers, but remember, no club is immune to the present challenges.

Today its Rollers, Matebele or Gunners, tomorrow it could be GU, Galaxy or Orapa. No one is safe. Now this is where leadership should rise and take the challenge by the scruff of the neck. This problem does not belong to clubs, it belongs to football and calls on those entrusted with the responsibility of running the game to work their socks off. Everyone probably knows that this challenge is firmly embedded in the structure and therefore, the funding models at these clubs. The real question is not why clubs are dying, the evidence is available in abundance around us. The question is why there has been sustained silence when the body count grows. Countless post-mortems will reveal a similar cause of death.

Now, what is needed are solutions rather than spending time dissecting the body. Over the weekend, the Botswana Football Association continued with its elections across regions, ushering in new leadership. What is paramount for these men and women is how they will confront challenges such as the sudden death of football clubs and the continued countrywide struggles. The national executive committee should be at the forefront leading regions in discussions aimed at digging clubs out of this hole. It should be a national discourse that leads to real rather than superfluous solutions, detached from the reality on the ground.