Francistown�s dark cloud with no silver lining
Mqondisi Dube | Thursday April 30, 2015 15:13
Francistown’s last person out- ECCO City Greens- switched- off the Premier League lights on the way to the First Division last weekend.
When the lights went off, a dark record was created, which leaves Francistown as the only second largest city in the southern African region without a Premier League team.
It was 13 years ago when TAFIC fans celebrated probably their team’s finest hour as the late Chrispen Nyamutambo led them to Coca Cola Cup glory.
This time eight years ago, Francistown was gleefully preparing to lay its hands on a first ever Premier League trophy when a Malepa ‘Mr King Goals’ Bolelang-led ECCO took the title across Dibete for the first –and only- time.
But, Francistown eerily stands as a Premier League ghost town today. In a single file, Premier League teams in that sprawling town, dubbed the second capital of Botswana, went down.
TASC blasted out, Great North Tigers had a see-saw affair, while TAFIC were seen as the city’s mainstay.
But all are gone and the last man standing, ECCO was cruelly tossed out ala WWF’s royal rumble-style. The new Francistown Stadium built at an initial cost of P170 million and with a capacity of 27,000, will arrive to a deafening ghostly silence as “there is nobody home.”
TAFIC finished strongly in the First Division, but that late rally was in vain, GNT, Amakhosi and TASC have been lumped together in regional football.
ECCO and TAFIC would renew their rivalry, albeit a gloss and tier lower.
Francistown has fallen silent. Township Rollers, Extension Gunners, Gaborone United and Mochudi Centre Chiefs road shows will not roll into the country’s second largest city at least for another season.
Calls for some of the city’s teams to merge have continued to gain traction but critics argue, sticking to identity and brand is priceless.
But, the titanic writing has long been on the wall and it was only a matter of time before Francistown’s Premier League heartbeat faded and the pulse just ground to a halt.
TAFIC’s relegation from the top flight came as no surprise as it followed months of wallowing in financial doldrums.
The moment BMC withdrew its financial support for ECCO, worried faces were spread all over Francistown and beyond.
ECCO never recovered from a poor start, which precipitated a headlong plunge and soon they were the overwhelming favourites –together with Letlapeng- for the drop. Now, Francistown football officials are sifting through the rubble of the mangled wreck in search of answers.
Francistown Region Football Association (FRAFA) secretary, Isaac Mabutha believes the city teams need to unite if progress is to be achieved.
He says the major challenge has been sponsorship; with ECCO adversely affected by BMC’s withdrawal.
Mabutha alleges a conspiracy to eliminate teams from the north by their southern counterparts.
“If you look at it; teams in the south snatch all good players from the north. Most resources are in Gaborone including company headquarters,” he argues.
He adds that teams in Gaborone unite when faced with a common challenge, unlike in Francistown.
“We are divided. Again, we have so many teams such that we have scattered talent.
There are few companies that can sponsor football versus the many teams we have.
“We should united like what they did in Orapa (with Orapa United) and Jwaneng (with Jwaneng Galaxy),” he says. But, while the post-mortem gathers pace, after rigor motis had settled in, weekends will, in the mean time proceed, without the Premier League vibe.