Rollers target P10m after sealing bumper deals
Kabelo Boranabi | Monday August 17, 2026 06:00
On Thursday, Popa announced that local company Hope Tee Energy has come on board as a premier sponsor on a three-year deal worth P6 million. Hope Tee Energy will inject P2 million per season into the club over the three years, taking Rollers’ confirmed annual sponsorship income to P7 million.
Italian sportswear company, Diadora, contributes the biggest share at P4 million per season through its five-year technical partnership, whilst Bet267 contributes P1 million per season.
Rollers also maintain commercial relationships with O3 Water and Options, although no financial value has been disclosed for those partnerships.
Rollers chairperson, Fish Pabalinga said the club’s ultimate objective is to raise at least P10 million every season through sponsorships, with two additional potential partners currently in the pipeline.
“Our dream as the executive of Township Rollers is to try and get Township Rollers to a point where we raise P10 million a season in sponsorships,” he said when addressing a press conference yesterday.
“We would like to raise as much as we can. Running football is not cheap.”
The P7 million secured so far represents 70% of the club’s sponsorship target, leaving Rollers with a P3 million gap to close. Pabalinga explained the financial demands of running a club of Rollers’ stature are substantial, but maintained that the costs also reflect the club’s ambitions.
“To run a professional side as big as Township Rollers is expensive, but it becomes expensive because we are also ambitious,” he added.
The ambition extends beyond domestic football, with Pabalinga insisting that Rollers belong on the continental stage.
“I mean it very seriously when I say Township Rollers deserve to be playing in Africa,” he said.
The most direct route to that objective is through domestic success, with Rollers needing to win the league or the Orange FA Cup to qualify for continental football.
Pabalinga acknowledged that the club may not achieve that objective immediately, but said it remains the direction in which the current executive wants to take Rollers.
“Whether we achieve it now, or in two years, or in three years, this is where we’d like to go,” he said.
The latest commercial developments represent a significant attempt by the club to strengthen its financial position following a period of financial difficulties.
The Hope Tee Energy agreement is particularly significant because it brings another P2 million per season into the club, whilst also carrying a strong emotional connection. Hope Tee founder and managing director, Hope Kontle, a lifelong Rollers supporter, said the partnership goes beyond business.
“My love for Township Rollers started when I was young. Going to the stadium was part of how we grew up,” Kontle stated.
“This is not just a sponsorship for me; it is about giving back to a club that shaped my passion for football and supporting the development of Botswana talent.”
Kontle added that he believes Botswana has enough talent to produce players capable of representing the national team and earning opportunities abroad, and wants the partnership to contribute to that development pathway.
For Pabalinga, Hope Tee’s arrival fits into the broader commercial strategy of building a stronger and more sustainable Rollers.
He said the club needs partners who understand its ambitions and are prepared to support the institution beyond simply placing their logos on its playing kit.
The chairman also assured supporters that the club expects to resolve its outstanding transfer-related issues before the start of the league.
“In terms of the transfer ban, yes, we will make sure by the time the league starts we would have dealt with it, and we would have signed the players,” he said.
He added that several players currently attending training sessions have already been training with the club.
“The many players that we see go training by now, they’ve been training with the team,” Pabalinga said.
The transfer situation has been one of the major concerns surrounding Rollers’ preparations, following the club’s previous ban over an outstanding debt to former coach Abdelaziz Karkache.