Clubs count costs as kick-off is delayed
Kabelo Boranabi | Thursday August 1, 2019 12:09
The league was scheduled to start on August 17, but has been pushing back by two weeks.
'The 2019-2020 league season shall start on August 30, 2019. This is to give newly appointed BPL Management Committee (BPLMC) time to plan for the change. Names of the individuals appointed to serve in the BPLMC will be shared with the public once they have been notified for their appointment,' the Botswana Premier League said in a statement yesterday.
Morupule Wanderers general manager, Kitso Maswena welcomed the postponement, but felt for clubs that face financial problems.
'We were expecting something like this. There are always uncertainties with our league but our preparations have not been affected that much. We have scheduled our preparations with anticipation that things like this will happen. We are just lucky to have a sponsor, but there are teams that rely more on gate takings. They will be affected badly by this rescheduling of the league start,' he said.
GU chairperson, Boitumelo Nsunge also shared the sentiments as he said it presents both advantages and disadvantages.
'It's a good thing we will have more time to prepare for the league. The coach will have more time with the boys to prepare. But the issue is the income flow that is where we will feel the pinch. We do have an investor, but we do rely on gate takings and replica sales. As things stand, we will not be making any sort of income,' he said.
Systems has a sponsor and therefore, will not feel the pinch.
'We have been ready to play at any time. We have done our signings on time and we are ready to kick ball. I do not think we will be badly affected because for a team like us we do not make a lot of money from the gate takings,' Systems' secretary general, Billy Molebatsi said.
Fears arose over the league start date, as there is uncertainty over the current sponsorship deal. The main league financier, Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) has asked kuşadası escort bayan to re-evaluate the P39 million sponsorship deal. Barclays Bank of Botswana has reportedly tabled an even better deal.