Delayed softball league gets green light
Koketso Kgoboge | Thursday November 9, 2017 08:10
Botswana Softball Association (BSA) president, Tirelo Mukokomani said the new date has been confirmed. “We have given the zones (north and south), the go ahead to start the league and we expect the teams to start playing on November 18,” he said. According to a source close to the association, the delays were due to the sponsor’s request for last season’s financial statements.
This, according to the source, followed the recent suspension of secretary general, Gloria Gaosikelwe. Mukokomani suspended Gaosikelwe for “failing to carry out her responsibilities” as the secretary general.
She was accused of failing to ensure that the BSA affiliation fee to the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) was paid. The association later settled the subscription. Mukokomani quashed the reports of accountability to the sponsor as unfortunate and untrue. He said the postponement had nothing to do with Gaosikelwe’s suspension. “It’s unfortunate people spread such malicious rumours about an organisation that is completely dedicated to supporting softball,” he said.
“Those rumours are not true. We have a conducive working relationship with BoFiNet and everything is reconciled in time hence their support extends even beyond the league sponsorship,” he added. Mukokomani said nothing is amiss between the sponsor and the association. He said the league was delayed to ensure all logistics are in place.
He said the association was engaged in putting together a 10-month action plan before the league could start. “We have a lot of activities in the next few months that include national team activities in the region and internationally.”
“We had to ensure our activity plan is in place to avoid unexpected delays once the league starts. In all honest, it was just a matter of ensuring that we are going to run smoothly.”
The league is expected to carry on with a similar schedule of fixtures.
The north zone games will be played in Serowe while in the south, Lobatse is the venue.