Will 'Big Ben' prove a big catch for Galaxy?
Kabelo Boranabi | Friday August 21, 2020 14:01
Just two months after being crowned league champions, Galaxy are reshuffling cards in order to respond to the immediate challenges posed, particularly by COVID-19.
This is at a time when the local football authorities are on a mission to speed up the commercialisation process, which ironically, is spearheaded by Bennett’s, elder brother, Ashford Mamelodi.
Galaxy in response has caught what looks like their signing of the season with the former Botswana Premier League (BPL) CEO. Mamelodi is the club’s first ever CEO.
He served as the Premier League boss between 2012 and 2016, a period where football made noticeable strides in terms of appeal.
The forthright administrator, however left the BPL office under a cloud, which saw a four-year long legal battle with the Botswana Football Association (BFA), ensue.
In his first year, the BPL’s value shot to P15 million and was at a record of P23 million just 12 months later. Crowd attendance was at its best with a number of clubs surviving the financial demands of the league campaign with handsome sponsorship particularly BTC.
Galaxy has the financial backing of the Debswana Jwaneng Mine. The club has not had a financier other than the mine. Galaxy has had three technical sponsors since gaining promotion in 2015.
In an environment where political interference has stalled progress, Mamelodi will count himself a lucky man as Galaxy have not been hit by internal power struggles since formation in 2014.
He is known for his no-nonsense attitude and following his return to football, and the environment in Jwaneng offers him a perfect opportunity to thrive. He will have full control of the club’s commercial processes.
Apart from the technical and playing personnel, he is the top-ranked full time employee. The football administrator has been hailed as a ‘gentleman’ in negotiations.
He oversaw an increase both the Mascom Top 8 and BTC Premiership sponsorships at the time. His appointment promises a massive payday at the Galaxy stars.
‘Ben’ however would need to adjust from a national league and club administrator. The environment is different, as he will solely focus on one entity.