First Division suspends Top 8
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday January 15, 2016 13:47
League chairperson, Sam Keitireng told Mmegi Sport yesterday the tournament has been suspended due to financial constraints.
He said even the committee failed to find a sponsor and the tournament will be held some other time when the situation improves.
He said the idea was for the tournament to benefit the teams financially. Keitireng said they are not ditching the idea, but merely postponing it.
He said the second round of the league will kick off on January 30. He added that the fixtures could have been affected if the tournament had gone ahead.
Keitireng said they drew the fixtures at the beginning of the season. He said they want to synchronise the fixtures with their First Division North counterparts.
“We want the leagues to end at the same time. In the past, we have been completing our season before our counterparts and that was a disadvantage to our teams who qualify for promotional play-offs.
Teams stayed a little longer inactive and they got out of shape,” he said.
Keitireng said they have failed to implement e-registration as the player numbers overwhelm machines used at the Botswana Football Association (BFA).
He said they will continue registering players manually and hopefully the new system will take off next season.
Despite that, Keitireng said the movement of players between teams has been quiet.
He said that could be because teams are still conducting trials. He said they expect the transfers to be completed this weekend.
Meanwhile, Keitireng expressed interest to continue as chairperson of the committee when the BFA structures go for elections later this year.
He said First Division representation in the National Executive Committee (NEC) is rotational. Keitireng said Eatametse Olopeng’s time comes to an end at the end of the season and a representative from the south will take his position in the BFA NEC.