Rollers� massive opportunity

Mmegi Editor | Friday January 29, 2016 12:58

Tomorrow, hundreds of supporters, with thousand others following across the country and beyond, converge in Gaborone West in what could be a watershed moment, not just for the club’s history, but football in general.

Rollers, being torn apart by incessant strife, hold a crucial annual general meeting as it seeks to end internal feuding that plague the club.

Two camps, one loyal to former managing director, Somerset Gobuiwang and one to business mogul, Jagdish Shah, have constantly been at each other’s throat in a row that threatens to tear apart the Mighty Blues. Several interventions have failed to deliver a quick solution and tomorrow, the future of the doyen of local football lies in the hands of the Rollers family.

The football fraternity will watch with bated breath to see which Rollers would turn-up tomorrow. Is it the peace-loving Popa family or hooligan elements witnessed in Molepolole over the weekend? Rollers is a critical piece in the beMOBILE Premiership puzzle.

This gives increased significance to tomorrow’s outcome as not only Rollers, but other clubs across the Premiership will be affected. Rollers have been the Premiership’s cash cow for ages and a healthy Popa means good business for football.

No wonder the Botswana Football Association (BFA) president, Tebogo Sebego was personally involved in efforts to find the elusive peace. Level heads should prevail tomorrow if Popa is to emerge from Gaborone West with its integrity enhanced and intact.

Bloated (and unnecessary) egos can only drive the club down. It’s a fatal choice that Rollers cannot afford to make. But encouragingly, the other option available is compromise, which might see one of the two warring factions emerge with a slightly smaller but peace guaranteeing portion.

It’s not always a win-win situation at the negotiating table. The Rollers fraternity should not walk into the Gaborone West Hall with personal glory in mind as the club comes first.

Critically, Shah and Gobuiwang should prove once and for all that they are not chasing personal gratification. Rollers and football should be the ultimate winners.

Vitally, Rollers has existed before Shah and Gobuiwang, therefore the element of indispensability should be eliminated. That unassuming fan in Parakarungu, who passionately follows Rollers’ progress every week, is an equal and important stakeholder. Rollers is not about Shah or Gobuiwang.

It’s about a collective and the wishes of the fans must be respected. Sometimes the majority is not always right, but in a democratic dispensation, their views should always prevail. Such should be the spirit in Gaborone West tomorrow.

We sincerely hope the vitriol and vuvuzelas-turned-weapons were discarded  in Molepolole and would not find their way to Gaborone West. This is a big moment for Rollers and they need to take the opportunity with both hands and prove they can - after all the troubles - effectively manage their affairs.

 

Today’s thought 

“Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.” 

-Isaac Asimov