On a cold Wednesday night, the FNB Premiership awards came and left bitter-sweet memories. The ceremony became a hot topic long after the winners had left the stage.
TAFIC emerged as the biggest winners on the night, eclipsing league champions, Gaborone United. Those in the red corner of Gaborone felt the champions had been short-changed and should have dominated the evening. But the other red end of Francistown feels the recognition of their players and coach was fully deserved. There are neutrals as well, some who feel after TAFIC's stellar season, it made sense for their players and coaches to almost sweep the stakes. But the other argument is that GU, as champions, should have provided the bulk of the winners on the night. One is tempted to feel that TAFIC fully deserved the recognition, given their limited resources and their traditional fight against relegation in recent years.
There were a lot of talking points after the awards including the omission of goalkeeper of the season, TAFIC's Tshepo Mooketsi from the team of the season list. To help clear any doubts, the committee responsible for picking the winners should explain its criteria to the public. As it is, it has been a poorly managed process where people have been left to speculate where the Botswana Football League (BFL) could have provided clarity. It is only the committee that can clear the mist and from there one can then interrogate the process from an informed position. Right now, people are vigorously stabbing in the dark, with the hope that they will hit the target. That said, it is clear that winning the league was not the only basis for the awards. It is not an anomaly for one to reward an outstanding player without consideration for silverware. The rewards should reflect the capability of a particular individual not just a team. A team can win the league as a result of a collective and not necessarily one player's outstanding contribution. In that case, it will make sense for the adjudicators to cast their net beyond just the league winners. What I do not agree with is the dominance of only two teams, TAFIC and GU to the exclusion of other teams that shone during the season. Remember, this was a tight league race right up to the last four rounds, with no clear winner. What happened to players from those teams that were involved in the close race? Did they suddenly become undeserving simply because their teams did not win the title? Sua Flamingoes has had an outstanding season and its a bit of a shock that they did not contribute even half a player to the team of the season.
The other contentious issue was the chairperson's award. Granted Bennett Mamelodi, the BFL chief executive, organised a near seamless competition, but does it not feel like he became the referee and the player in this instance? The BFL are the organisers of the awards and it appears untidy for them to reward one of their own. There could have been special mention for Mamelodi without including him on the prize winners' list. It appeared untidy.
