No special dispensation for Rollers, Orapa
Kabelo Boranabi | Friday December 16, 2016 14:00
The teams were required to register a maximum of 25 players for the local competition whilst CAF requests a maximum of 30 players.
The BFA Play Rules and Regulations, which caused a furore last season, require local teams to register only 25 players who are 17-years-old and above.
They are allowed to register five more if only those five players are under the age of 17. While CAF requires that they can register 30 players, both Orapa United and Rollers are forced to use only 25 players despite the crammed schedule where they will play three competitions. Besides the CAF competitions, Rollers and Orapa United are still both involved in the Mascom Top 8 as well as the BTC Premiership.
Speaking to Mmegi Sport yesterday, BFA public relations and marketing officer Tumo Mpatane said they are aware of the situation. He however stated that the rules will stand and both sides will not receive any special dispensation. “We are following the rules. The teams will forward their grievances to the FA; we will then take a decision with the advice from our competitions department. But as of now neither of the teams has come forward hence why there is nothing we can do but to follow the rules at the moment,” Mpatane said.
Reached for comment Rollers spokesperson, Bafana Pheto said the players will be hugely affected as they will be playing more games. He said they have not yet approached the BFA to ask for any special treatment. “We don’t know yet who our opponents will be. Maybe from then we will be able to ask the BFA to postpone some of the games or ask for any kind of solution looking at the situation then,” he said. He further said his team opted not to register Under-17 players as they went for experience.
“In most cases coaches prefer experience and you cannot take an Under-17 player to a CAF competition. One other thing is that our setup here is not suitable for younger players as it might have an impact on their academics,” Pheto said.
For his part the Ostriches coach, Madinda Ndlovu had earlier said there is no way he can increase the squad due to the 25-player limit. “What am I going to do with the extra five players that I am going to sign in January after they finish playing in the CAF competition? I will have to pay them for the rest of the contract without them playing in the league.
What we can talk about is whether we are doing the right thing as an association in the country. Are we doing things in accordance with the world standard?”
He said he could not incur an expense that will haunt him. “There is nothing I can do. I will go with the 25 players into the CAF competition as required by our football association,” Ndlovu said.
The Ostriches will be making their continental debut. They earned their spot in the CAF Confederation Cup after winning the Mascom Top 8 at the expense of Rollers last year. As for Rollers, it will be their third CAF Champions League appearance. Popa had made six appearances in the then African Cup of Champions Clubs.
Earlier this year, CAF announced a move to expand the group stage of both the Champions League and the Confederations Cup from eight teams to 16 teams.
The move brings hope to the local football fraternity, as no local club has ever the reached the level before. Rollers came close in 2006 but were knocked out by Angola’s Interclube Luanda on a 2-1 aggregate score. The draw for the competitions will be conducted in January next year.