Teams face congested schedule after late start
Kabelo Boranabi | Wednesday September 13, 2017 15:19
However, it could get much worse for the teams if negotiations for the proposed FA Cup are successful.
The FA Cup discussions are on the table after Botswana Football Association (BFA) president, Maclean Letshwiti announced at the association’s annual general assembly held early last month, that the tournament would return after six years.
The move is seen as a good development for local football, but questions arose when the FA Cup dates were omitted in the league fixtures released by the BPL office last week.
Speaking to Mmegi Sport yesterday, BFA communication and marketing officer, Tumo Mpatane assured that talks with potential sponsors have not collapsed and the dates for the tournament would be included in the calendar once an agreement is reached.
Mpatane further said the fixtures were not included in the calendar due to ongoing talks.
“We are having good talks with people. We are not going to blow our heads and put the fixtures (in the calendar). We did not want to swallow before we chew. We cannot reveal much on the talks. Once they are complete, we will communicate and it (the FA Cup) would be incorporated into the calendar,” he said.
Mpatane said the teams are aware of the proceedings and would be prepared for the outcome.
“Our teams are aware that we are talking with some people. Look, we have a responsibility of protecting our future partners here. If you look at the calendar, there are some free days and we hope we can slot the fixtures in there. I think we should not sound alarms as yet; we will communicate once we are done,” he said.
Some BPL teams could play a maximum of 35 games this season if the FA Cup dream is realised, as they would enter the competition in the round of 32.
Those who qualified for the top eight could end up playing 40 games, while Township Rollers and Jwaneng Galaxy who will be competing in the CAF club tournament may end up playing close to 45 games in a space of eight months.
The BPL teams already would play twice a week in many occasions as the authorities are racing against time to meet the league schedule that normally ends in May. The fixtures may also be affected due to lack of stadia as some games are scheduled to be played under floodlights.