First Division sides in the dark over relief funds
Koketso Kgoboge | Friday June 5, 2020 11:16
They argue, without assistance, they would not be able to return to the playing pitch. Calendar Stars chairperson, Buzwane Diboko said the situation at his side is so dire they would not be able to meet costs to fulfil either a home or away fixture if they were asked to complete the season.
He said teams were not briefed on the relief funds from the BFA, but welcomed the aid from the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development (MYSC).
The ministry is in the process of paying salaries for 25 players, and five members of the technical team. Deadline for submission was yesterday (Thursday). “The players are supported and we welcome the gesture from MYSC. Unfortunately, our clubs are not assisted and they rely on the management to dig deep from their pockets to keep everything else going but we are also affected,” he said.
Diboko felt the coronavirus situation has exposed that local football’s plan was abrupt and ignored the reality on the ground.
“We have to go back to the era where our players had regular jobs and were playing at the same time. Our teams cannot meet demands for players that are fully reliant on teams,” he said.
Diboko said with the envisaged health protocols when football returns, the club leadership has to meet and decide the way forward. Stars are sixth on the league table and they are the only First Division club in the north to have reached the quarterfinals of the Orange FA Cup.
Santa Green’s Muguve Chawita shared similar sentiments about being kept in the dark about the relief. He said the company that had been the club’s backbone is on its knees and they were failing to support the team.
“Even our First Division North leaders don’t have any information regarding the relief,” he said. “It’s a struggle, we are only lucky most of our players are from Mahalapye and staying with their families, as the team is failing.”
Sankoyo Bush Bucks spokesperson, Thato Molosi also said they were struggling. He said the club’s board incurs day-to-day costs as they try to sustain the team during a period when organisations are struggling to mitigate the effects of COVID-19.
“It’s a difficult phase for everyone, we understand our football leaders are making an effort but as far as it is, it’s not enough. It is going to be expensive for us to return to playing, but we know that no matter the struggle, at the end we would be called to play and forced to comply as it happened with club licencing,” Molosi said.
First Division North chairperson, Jonas Ikgopoleng said they were waiting for a brief after the BFA National Executive Committee failed to meet last week where they had expected to deal with the relief issues.
“We might not be updating our teams enough, but we have told them before that NEC would make a decision on the reliefs. NEC failed to meet and we are expecting an update this week and they will get the feedback,” he said.