BFA Moves To Change Football Calendar
Kabelo Boranabi | Monday September 21, 2020 13:06
On Friday, the association announced that it would present a motion before the next general assembly, which seeks to change the current football calendar to February-November.
The association also said since it seeks to change the current football calendar, this has prompted a change in the transfer period. In a statement released on Friday, the BFA announced that the transfer window would open December 1, 2020 and close in the midnight of February 22, 2021.
“The above registration period is informed by a decision of the NEC (National Executive Committee) of 16th August 2020 to place before the General Assembly, a statutory amendment motion to facilitate for the change of the Botswana Football Season Calendar from August to May to February to November,” part of the BFA statement reads.
Last season was halted in March due to outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and was ended in June with Jwaneng Galaxy declared champions. The Orange FA Cup and promotional playoffs will serve as curtain raiser for the new season.
Monitor Sport understands that the Orange FA Cup, which was halted at the quarterfinals and the playoffs, will be played in November. The teams will be required to go on a preparatory six weeks period to meet the health protocols before they can take to the field. The two competitions will be played until January before the new campaign kick-starts.
Football will return locally early November as the Zebras resume the AFCON 2021 qualification campaign. Zebras will kick off with an away fixture to Zambia before a return leg on November 9-17. The CAF club competitions will follow in as the first leg of the preliminary round of the competitions will kick-off on November 20 until the 22, with the second leg taking place a week later.