The beMOBILE Premier League under the microscope
| Friday March 22, 2013 00:00
If there is one person who has seen the transition of the Botswana Premier League (BPL) from its previous status to the current one is former general manager Phuthego Setete. Setete was at the helm of the country's elite league from 2009 until last year. He had served the league since 2005 when he joined as secretary until 2008 when he was appointed acting general manager before being confirmed the following year. Setete's major task, according to then premier league board was to turn the league fully professional by 2012.
The soft-spoken administrator told Mmegi Sport that he has seen the league reach greater heights following the arrival of be MOBILE, before a notable decline that continues to this day. He said was a time when the standard of the league experienced tremendous growth. He singled out the first two seasons of the be MOBILE Premier League, the 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 as some of the best seasons.
He said despite the challenges they faced among them inadequate facilities, they managed to deliver a very good product and supporters filling up the stadiums were evidence of this. The premier league faced a daunting task of finishing the 2009/2010 season early before the start of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, with three stadiums closed for renovations in the southern part of the country. Setete said the following season, the interest in the league started to decline as when measured by match attendance. 'It became a concern for us. We started asking ourselves questions, does it mean teams were no longer playing interesting soccer? Do spectators now prefer to watch their teams on TV than live?' he said.
He said it also became evident that the level of competition among clubs has a direct contribution to spectators' interest in the league. ' When Gaborone United (GU) won the league on the last match of the 2008/2009 season, the level of interest had reached its peak. Nothing was predictable. Supporters thronged the Molepolole Stadium on that day to see who will be crowned the champion,' he said. He said however when the league and relegation are decided early in the season, the general interest go down and stakeholders no longer have interest whatsoever in what happens in the remaining matches of the season.
Setete said with the introduction of the top eight cup last season, expectations were that the standard of competition in the league would improve, in turn boosting the interest of important stakeholders, in particular, supporters and sponsors. He said this however did not happen and it should be a main concern for the current league management to see what is the root of the problem. He said predictability of league events might be one of the contributing factors to the declining interest as the league is becoming more and more predictable every season.
He said there was also hype when the clubs started getting annual grants and TV rights money, but this was very little to address clubs financial woes. He said one of the things he regrets not being able to do during his tenure was to empower clubs financially. 'Most clubs should now be in a position to find themselves partnerships and we failed to help them to do that,' he said. He said it was saddening that the league has grown, but clubs remained stagnant. He said there was very little willingness in the leadership to implement the Bosele Declaration recommendations; hence the blueprint has remained a failure.
On the way forward to regenerate the interest of the league and improve the standard, Phuthego said there should be a deliberate effort to empower the clubs in order for them to get partnerships. He said without that, there cannot be guaranteed growth of the league. He said club structures' need to be revived to enable better communication with supporters, who are the main stakeholders, not through gate takings, rather because they are the ones that enable clubs to lure sponsors. 'If you look back two-three years, there was a lot of communication between clubs and supporters, but that is not happening anymore,' he said.
While the sponsor maintains that they have done their part to help improve the standard of the game, they expressed a worry with the current state of affairs at the premier league. Responding to Mmegi Sport questionnaire, BTC group communications manager Golekanye Molapisi said through the sponsorship, they have not only raised the profile of the game but also helped develop local football in the process. He said feedback from various quarters is that the game is in a better state now than when be MOBILE came on board. He said there is still a room for improvement, as even though the game has improved technically, commercially and financially there are still some challenges. He said through the sponsorship, the Botswana Premier League (BPL) office was able to restructure after beMOBILE contributed a certain amount towards salaries enabling them to hire professionals. On the current TV rights issue, Molapisi said they are not satisfied with the status quo where no live matches are being broadcast. 'The television blackout not only affects us as sponsors but equally undermines the football brand product. However, as a major stakeholder in the development of football, we continue to engage our partners to break the impasse,' was his response.
He said they are engaging the premier league and buttress the fact that not meeting their end of the bargain stalls the growth of football. He however said it was too soon for them to pre-empt their next cause of action. He said although they are not pleased with recent developments among them rescheduling matches to midweek and TV blackouts, he would not describe their relationship as strained, as they are alive to the efforts to normalise the situation.The level of a developing league like that of Botswana can be measured by the number of quality players exported to more advanced and professional leagues abroad, and manages to match the standards there. Botswana has over the years sparingly exported players to South Africa's Absa Premier League.