BPL enjoys rare, protest free season
Boitumelo Khutsafalo | Wednesday May 31, 2017 15:43
The league has, for the past two seasons, been rocked by boardroom wrangles, denying the football supporters a smooth end to the season. The two seasons were characterised by protests and uproar over the eligibility of some of the players in the league.
The Ofentse Nato saga which is still fresh in the minds of football supporters created confusion and tainted the league’s image. Nato’s registration was questioned by several clubs and the situation was not helped by the contrasting rulings over the matter between the disciplinary committee representing the BPL and the one representing the mother body, the Botswana Football Association (BFA).
Mochudi Centre Chiefs, who were among the teams challenging the registration of Nato last season, were initially crowned as champions after Rollers ‘lost’ 10 points.
The decision to crown Chiefs was later reversed extending the season. Rollers in the end were declared champions following a play-off win over Chiefs.
A similar occurrence happened the previous season, involving the registration of Morris Ruzivo who at the time was playing for Sankoyo Bush Bucks.
This season, the league did not register a single protest and finished on time despite the late start. The league also witnessed a thrilling end with Jwaneng Galaxy and Rollers battling for the crown until the 29th week of the season.
Orapa United kicked off the season on a high and appeared early favourites but lost ground towards the end of the first round as Rollers and Galaxy closed in. Rollers eventually won their 14th league title and their fifth in 10 years.
Terrence Mandaza won his second top goal scorer’s award with 17 goals but faced stiff competition from young Gaborone United (GU) striker, Tumisang Orebonye. Meanwhile for the second season running, three teams from the north failed to survive the axe and joined the First Division North League.
Nico United on Saturday joined Green Lovers and Mahalapye Hotspurs despite winning their last match.
Their situation was not helped by the fact that Miscellaneous also won their last match while Police XI drew against Sankoyo. The previous season saw FC Satmos, BR Highlanders and Motlakase Power Dynamos, all from the north, going down.