The shock resistant football market
Mqondisi Dube | Wednesday October 19, 2016 16:23
But luckily, local football is just an intricate, unlisted business. There are no stock markets to react to unpredictable behaviour.
The last eight months have seen football plunge into an abyss, but other than a statement or two from sponsors, BTC (formerly beMOBILE) it has largely remained business as usual.
Botswana Premier League (BPL) chief executive officer, Bennett Mamelodi has been suspended, faced a court case and suspended again as questions hover over the mid season budget exhaustion.
A forensic audit is underway and its outcome is seen as key to Mamelodi’s future. But the conclusion is that he is as good as gone with the new Maclean Letshwiti leadership reportedly not too keen to work with him.
Just a wall away from Mamelodi’s office, BFA chief executive officer, Kitso Kemoeng had followed developments at the BPL with keen interest.
At some stage, he was asked to act on Mamelodi’s behalf. Kemoeng almost knew that a change in guard at the BFA would certainly spell doom. And when the man who brought him to office, Tebogo Sebego lost in August, the football markets followed Kemoeng’s future keenly.
He faced the inevitable despite efforts to toe the line and work amicably with the new leadership, some of whom drew out daggers in a failed coup last December.
Kemoeng had to continually watch over his shoulder, but that vigilance was finally broken when he was served with a suspension letter on Monday.
Sandwiched in between was the blowing matter of the referees’ strike, although the whistle man had been paid.
Now football has two key positions where the ‘drivers’ are suspended, hardly the ideal situation at the start of a new season.
Thabo ‘Stiles’ Ntshinogang, holding fort for Mamelodi and Susan Lawrence, in, in place of Kemoeng, cannot take firm decisions at the moment.
The BFA had a better option of addressing, particularly the Kemoeng issue, where internal structures and dialogue could have been fully utilised.
Suspensions are hardly ideal and they soil the name of football, particularly when they come thick and fast. The internal option would have given better direction; fire or retain then the association moves on.
Suspensions will naturally create anxiety at BFA amid all the talk of wholesome changes. Letshwiti now comes under the microscope as whatever decision he makes will be closely scrutinised. After dismissing assertions that BFA was under capture from certain quarters, Letshwiti would be hard-pressed to take re-assuring decisions which reflect him as an impeccable and meticulous leader otherwise the jury is still not out.