Chiefs� initial CAF decision was poor

Dennis Keagile | Friday January 22, 2016 14:31

This is basically the catch 22 situation Chiefs found itself in. Unlike in Europe where the UEFA Champions League is the dream of any club and top player, in Africa it is the preserve of the wealthy. Apparently Chiefs were not aware that the league sponsor, beMOBILE and the Botswana National Sport Commission no longer provide financial support to the league champions for the African sojourn.

Given that it is almost a year since Chiefs won the league, one may argue the club should have attempted some fund raising but the upkeep expenses on their own are a challenge.

 It is for this reason that a business person would ask him/herself what are the benefits or rather when can one recoup the money from the trip. But for a sport person completely devoid of financial management, there is no harm in putting in half a million and the returns are zero.

CAF club competition is quite draining financially and even physically and I think that the football fraternity is asking too much from club investors or sponsors. On average; taking into account accommodation, transport costs, office rental plus salaries and allowances, each club in the Premiership needs about P4million a year to make ends meet.

This means the monthly budget is just above P333,000. When a club embarks on a CAF assignment the costs almost doubles as the mode of transport is virtually by air and the minimum standard for a hotel accommodation is a three star.

Perhaps the Botswana Premier League (BPL) and the Botswana Football Association ought to have a standard budget for CAF games as a guideline for any club that is interested in taking part in the competition. I believe such information can go a long in making people understand and appreciate the challenges associated with competing in CAF.

The Football Players Union, based on the Botswana market and the money generated from the gates, should have what it considers a respectable minimum wage for its members.

This is notwithstanding the agreement between the player and club, such information can go a long way in helping many sport administrators and officials. I am of the view that there is a lot of ignorance as to how much is needed to run a Premiership club.

But assuming Chiefs were to set aside its financial challenges and participate in CAF, is the club ready from a technical perspective? Realistically speaking, I do not think the club is ready. The club is not only short, but lacks balance in its playing personnel.  It cannot play at full throttle just for 50 minutes, but we all know that CAF games are demanding physically and otherwise. Some of its personnel has aged and cannot take opponents head-on in a fast paced game.

As a result, the club has to build gradually from the back which gives opponents ample time to retreat and organise defensively. Modern football relies a lot on time and space.

In a nutshell, the earlier decision by Chiefs to participate in this year’s CAF games was not well thought. I am of the view that the Chiefs management was casual about the whole thing and it was quite unfortunate. What now remains is whether CAF can accept Chiefs’ reasoning because as things stand the club is likely to be reprimanded if not given a fine or even suspended. The club will have to come up with some good reasons as to why it has decided to withdraw after initially showing interest. 

As for the BPL it ought to have a standard rough budget based on travelling within Southern Africa, then East Africa, North Africa and West Africa including the islands of Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles and maybe the Comoros.

Title race

The league race started on a slow note for Chiefs and Township Rollers as they surprisingly dropped points against lightweight opponents. Orapa United aka the Ostriches were the biggest winners as the club has now narrowed the margin between itself and Rollers to just a point. Pressure has definitely begun to mount on Rollers as its 11-point lead has been badly whittled down.

It is now no more a question of by how many points can they win the league, but rather as to who will win it. As things stand, it is now anybody’s title among those in the top four. Can Madinda Ndlovu and Zacharia Muzadzi cause a shocker? The omen is ripe for such a scenario. As for the relegation battle, it is yet another harrowing experience for FC Satmos.

This is, however, a topic for another day but having three clubs all from the north fighting relegation is not good for the game in this part of the country.

At the same time, it calls for a change of mind set among the club administrators. History cannot keep on repeating itself. Something drastic ought to be done.

With BCL Mine struggling financially, the future of Nico United aka Majombolo is also in limbo. The club is already feeling the strain, but as for the league race it is game on and only the smart one will emerge victorious.