First Division kick-off delay irritates clubs
Koketso Kgoboge | Friday September 14, 2018 13:15
Teams were raring to go, but a sudden postponement has deflated the mood. First Division North chairperson, Mpezeni Sambandawe said they were compelled to delay the league start to ensure all logistics were in order, before the ball gets rolling.
Sua Flamingoes chairperson, Rebagamang Sekgekge said they were disappointed as the team was itching for action.
“We were excited to get back to business. This is a season that our blood is boiling with desire and we are ready to march into the Premiership. This delay dents our mental strength. We are hugely disappointed but there is nothing we can do,” he said.
Green Lovers coach, Othusitse Kootswele said the delay would affect their constricted budget. He said they had conditioned the players for a start this weekend only to learn of a postponement three days before kick off.
“Our leaders are blind to our struggles, when they postpone indefinitely it means we will have to channel the resources we have saved for the league to secure friendly games so we maintain the condition of our players and that is a very costly exercise,” Kootswele said. Sambandawe said the postponement was unavoidable, as a number of reasons could not be overlooked. He said amongst a number of reasons, was the league sponsorship audit that was concluded this week. He said there was no way the sponsor would release the clubs’ grants before the audit was completed.
He said their agreement with their new broadcasting partners has also not been fully met due to technical delays. He said they are preparing for the broadcast of the season’s launching fixture and preparations have not been completed.
He said since the audit has been concluded, they would be engaging their partners to ensure that the teams get full grants before the ball is kicked, ensuring a smooth start to the season.
“We also want to clear all the outstanding balances to the referees so we don’t leave any stone unturned when we kickoff,” he said, also noting that the delay will afford their main sponsor, some time to train the first aid personnel before the league starts.
“We want to fullfil all our obligations before the league starts. We had an exciting campaign last season that was almost free of negative incidents and this season we want to run a very clean league.”