Sankoyo to pay 22,000km promotion price
| Friday June 20, 2014 17:52
When Sankoyo’s promotion joy finally dies down, they will discover a daunting challenge behind the excitement curtain.
Expectedly the air has been heavy with expectation following a final day victory over, Sladen Eagles, which confirmed Sankoyo’s promotion. The joy of being the first northwest side to make it to the topflight threw Sankoyo into seventh heaven. But in the middle of the celebration room, an elephant emerged. The Maun side has to confront the formidable task of travelling a record 22,000 km in a single season. Sankoyo will play 15 matches on the road, with the shortest journey a still lengthy 652km round trip to ‘neighbours’ Orapa.
Lobatse provides the longest distance of nearly 1,000km from Maun, and the country’s oldest town is home to two teams, Extension Gunners and BMC. The be MOBILE Premier League distance table will reveal Sankoyo is way ahead of their rivals, a situation the Gadimang Tiiso coached outfit would like replicated on the pitch. Their nearest challengers in the distance travelled will be Orapa whose trips will be shorter by 9,000km. There was some talk that Sankoyo, funded by the Sankoyo Development Trust would fly for some of its away matches.
But the club’s spokesperson, Thato Molosi says they will use the road. “We are still putting together a budget but we estimate that we will use at least P20,000 per away match on transport alone,” Molosi says. He adds that they have a P2 million budget for the season, although the club is still battling to raise the amount. Sankoyo hopes talks with prospective sponsors bears fruit to lessen the burden.
Be MOBILE Premier League clubs receive around P120,000 per year in grants from television rights. The bottom placed team also receives the same amount as prize money. At most, a club can make P1,120,000 if it wins the league which carries a first prize of P1 million. Gate takings are not expected to exceed P500,000 for home games which would leave gross income at around P1.7million, provided a club wins the league. This does not include club sponsorship and other sources of income like endorsements.
The figure is below the P2 million, which Sankoyo has budgeted for its maiden Premier League season. The Maun side faces seven trips to Gaborone, Molepolole or Otse depending on the fixtures and two trips to Lobatse. Orapa, 326km away from Maun provides some partial relief while trips to Selebi-Phikwe (twice) will account for more than 2,000km. Sankoyo will keep its fingers crossed that the Botswana Premier League accedes to BR Highlanders’ request to play their home games in Mahalapye. This will cut at least 400km from the overall distance as Highlanders used to play its home matches in Gaborone during their last Premier League foray.