Rollers, Forest Top 8 encounter postponed
Kabelo Boranabi | Wednesday November 21, 2018 14:41
The uncertainty and the postponement of one of the games arose after the Zebras got stranded in Mauritania after flights were cancelled due to unfavourable weather conditions in France.
The eight teams participating in this year's edition of the tournament had a total of 11 players in the Zebras setup. Speaking at the a press briefing this morning, Botswana Premier League (BPL) chief executive officer (CEO), Thabo Ntshinogang said as per FIFA regulations LOC had to postpone the Rollers/Forest clash as the defending champions have four players with the Zebras. 'As per the statement we released yesterday, all the games will go on as originally planned except for the Rollers and Black Forest game. We have found a suitable slot for the game and it will be played on November 30.'
'This is in accordance with the playing rules that a team can be excused if they have more than three players in the national team. Rollers is the only team that has more than three players so adjustments were made,' Ntshinogang said. The Zebras is expected to arrive in the country on Friday and the Rollers quartet in the team's setup is goalkeeper, Mwampule Masule, the defensive duo of Mosha Gaolaolwe and Simisane Mathumo, as well as striker, Tumisang Orebonye. Ntshinogang also said, the committee had mulled over moving the game that was scheduled for Saturday (November 24) to Sunday but due to Rollers' CAF Champions league engagements they were forced to find another date.
Meanwhile, LOC chairperson Moreo Modisenyane said they intend to grow the prestigious tournament every season. He said, this season, their main priority is security at the venues.
'I can guarantee that we will bring numbers to the stadium, we want to surpass the previous season. As per our promise we want to take care of the security for the teams and the fans. We will not compromise when it comes to security. We will have the private security companies together with the Botswana Police Service at the stadiums,' he said.
The first leg of this season's quarterfinals will kick off on Friday evening when Orapa United welcome BDF XI at the Itekeng Stadium. On Saturday afternoon Miscellaneous will face Gaborone United (GU) at the Serowe Sports Complex whilst Jwaneng Galaxy will welcome tournament debutants, Sharps Shooting Stars at Galaxy Stadium on Sunday afternoon.