Despite economic blues, clubs land lucrative deals
Mqondisi Dube | Monday August 31, 2026 06:00
At a time when businesses are becoming increasingly cautious about expenditure, local football clubs have somehow managed to buck the trend, securing sponsorship deals worth millions of pula.
The development represents a significant shift in the local football landscape, where clubs have traditionally struggled to attract substantial sponsorships.
Clubs have had to contend with modest sponsorships, barely enough to sustain them for the entire season. This has had a ripple effect, negatively affecting the quality of competition.
But the landscape is fast-changing, thanks to recent multi-million-pula deals secured by clubs such as Gaborone United (GU), Township Rollers and Tonota FC. It could signal the beginning of a new commercial era for local football.
GU received a significant shot in the arm when Sunbet Botswana committed P4 million; not to be outdone, Rollers received P7 million worth of deals from Hope Tee Energy, Diadora and Bet267 whilst FNB Premiership newcomers, Tonota FC, made a grand entry with a P2.5 million agreement with Old Mutual.
The scale of the deals points to a corporate sector that is warming up to the local game despite the recent financial squeeze.
The new financial power generated from these deals could see the quality of competition improve, with teams strengthening significantly ahead of the new campaign. Already it is tough to pick the favourites with Mochudi Centre Chiefs, GU and Jwaneng Galaxy seen as the contenders, whilst the gap is closing elsewhere.
Critically, there could be good news off the field where clubs have often been hit by regular disputes over unfulfilled contractual obligations.
The development has seen cases pile before the player dispute resolution body, with statistics at one point indicating that at least 10 of the 16 clubs had violated their agreements with players.
The investments come at an interesting time, defying economic uncertainty.
The betting explosion and the healthy financial situation for most banking institutions have partly aided the boom in corporate backing for local clubs. Companies appear willing to place significant bets on clubs that can provide them with a strong platform.
For the first time in a long while, Botswana football appears to have a financial arms race on its hands. However, there is one eye on the boardroom issues, with the league's progress stifled by constant leadership wrangling.
This week, the start of the season was thrown into doubt as both the Botswana Football Association and Botswana Football League held opposing views.
The BFA wanted the league start to be delayed due to Botswana hosting the COSAFA CAF Champions League women's qualifiers, but the BFL was holding firm that there is need to get the ball rolling to afford GU and Galaxy enough match experience ahead of continental club competition next week.