Investors should respect teams identities

Thuso Palai | Thursday April 10, 2014 22:45

Who can forget the Notwane and BMC debacles, and to some extent the Township Rollers matter that is still in court. Now, just when the dust was settling, we hear of one team being relocated and this has once again irked some people, and brought out the debates on these take-overs.

In some of the deals, the wheels fell off, others are still just on, and others are said to be about to come off. In whatever happens, there are usually positives and negatives, and with every decision that is made, there will be those for and those against. I for one was all for the take overs, as I believe they could take our football forward. I however had a problem with how they were effected, and when some of us spoke out against how the take overs were effected, we were accused of opposing progress.

But that was never the case. Some team loyalists were side-lined when they asked questioned and I’m pretty sure, they are sitting somewhere and saying, ‘we told you so’. At this point, there is still confusion with regards BMC, or is it FC Rangers? There are still murmurs of discontent that the team has moved to Gaborone, and the team has lost some of its few supporters because of that move. And then there is the ever lingering rumour that the Ghoudtratti’s want to bolt as they feel they were ‘sold’ a raw deal. Not confirmed, but it is a bubbling under.

Before the ink could dry on the Mogapi-Notwane deal, the wheels came off. The BMC saga is rather confusing. The Township Rollers matter is still in court.  The Centre Chiefs issue is the latest to hit the news. I have it on good authority that a Club Village is being built in Tlokweng, something that has sparked controversy that the team will be relocated to Tloweng. I can imagine Mochudi centre Chiefs based in Tlokweng, training in Tloweng and having its offices in Tloweng.

It is not an issue for some, but for some diehard Magosi, it is a source of discomfort as the team will to a large extent no longer have that Mochudi element. If indeed the team moves, which I Hope is not true, the only thing Mochudi that would be left would be the name Mochudi. Someone recently said, it should not be an issue since Magosi, although called Mochudi Centre Chiefs, has long relocated to Gaborone. When Businessman Jamali took over at Magosi, some supporters feared something like this would happen, and they were dismissed as bitter and opposing progress. I just wonder what they are saying now.

There is one particular team that I respect for clinging on to their identity and never flinching in their stand. Extension Gunners has had so many suitors, some of whom came in and suggested that when they take over, they would relocate the team to Gaborone, and they resisted the temptation, so far. I cannot imagine Extension Gunners being taken over and then relocating to Gaborone. Yes, these take overs have their positives, and I’m all for them, but I have a problem when they influence the identity of the teams.  

As concerns all the take-overs, when some loyalists asked questions, and asked for caution when effecting the take-overs, they were accused of opposing and stalling progress. But from what has happened at almost all the teams that have been ‘sold’, can we now say; the chickens are coming home to roost.