the monitor

Ghetto fans keep the party rolling

Since its birth in 2015, the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium has developed what is now an unbreakable bond with fans in the north. The facility is slowly replacing the National Stadium as the local mecca for football.

The evidence was once again there for all to see as fans converged from all corners to create a carnival 'come and Ghetto your love' atmosphere during Saturday’s epic Orange FA Cup final between mining town sides, Jwaneng Galaxy and Orapa United. For neutrals, it wasn’t the ideal final as one would have liked to see the involvement of the so-called community teams. There were always fears that the uninspiring build-up to the final, coupled with a fixture featuring 'institutional teams' could have resulted in a low fan turnout. But Ghetto is fast re-modelling itself as the go-to-jolly-place for local football with the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium, the epicentre of key activities, including the Zebras’ matches.

Multitudes made their way to Botswana’s newest football complex, despite the absence of the traditional crowd pullers, Township Rollers and Gaborone United. It would have been a dream final to say, have a home town team like TAFIC in the final. But teams only progress to the ultimate stage through merit and not on sentiment. The fans' presence on Saturday ensured that what could have been a yawn, turned into a colourful afternoon football jamboree, with the two teams playing their part in a spectacle that ended with Galaxy cementing their recent domestic dominance.

Editor's Comment
Students wellbeing is a priority

The research presented at the recent Botswana Secondary School Teachers Union symposium should serve as a wake-up call to us all.We are so focused on coding, artificial intelligence, and the jobs of tomorrow that we are neglecting the basic safety and emotional well-being of the children sitting in our classrooms today.Statistics are deeply worrying. One study revealed that 34% of secondary school learners in Gaborone meet the criteria for a...

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