BFA faces playoffs dilemma
Koketso Kgoboge | Friday July 24, 2020 16:44
The Botswana Football Association (BFA) declared the season complete last month, but there are still playoff matches pending in the various leagues.
BFA chief executive officer, Mfolo Mfolo said the association had appointed a committee to assess how the playoffs could be handled.
He said the committee has met twice already and the association is expecting a report. The BFA National Executive Committee would make the final decision, after going through the report.
The BFA medical committee’s ‘Return to play guidelines’ indicate that it could cost the mother body about P87,000 per match day, while the club forks P70,000, in order to meet the COVID-19 health protocols.
Mfolo admitted, the playoffs could be scrapped, but said the report from the task team would determine that.
“Probabilities are very low at this point, but that would be determined by the findings of the task team.”
In a document shared with Mmegi Sport, the task team is looking at three options for both the Premiership and the national leagues playoffs.
Nico United and Mogoditshane Fighters are scheduled to fight it out for the remaining Premiership berth after Sua Flamingoes and Masitaoka grabbed automatic promotion.
The first option is for the two clubs to play a once-off game at a neutral ground instead of the natural two-legged playoff, home and away.
If the single match fails, a promotion could be decided by the best runner-up overall according to the log standing, which will see Majombolo walk into the premiership with a point better than Fighters.
A toss might also be used as the last option to decide promotion.
The First Division playoffs provide a complication with 17 teams from the Southern, Northern, Eastern and Western blocks up for battle for the four First Division league berths.
One club would gain promotion from each of the four blocks to fill two positions in the northern and southern first division leagues.
The first option is that clubs play a knockout instead of the natural point system format. In the second option, a promotion could be decided through a toss.
Meanwhile, the task force is also looking at how the Orange FA Cup could be concluded. The competition was at the quarterfinal stage.