The commission announced in a media release this week that as part of its strategy to revive its ailing fortunes, it would gradually withdraw from sponsoring both ECCO and BMC. This week football supporters expressed fear that the move may result in the two clubs folding. "This is sad because the two teams, though they are stable, do not command a huge following and may struggle to get sponsorship to ensure their sustenance."Sponsors usually want to be associated with clubs with many supporters in a bid to market themselves.
"We are likely to see the standard of football in the north diminishing as a result of the sponsorship pullout by BMC. "For the past few years ECCO have helped improve the standard of football here by attracting quality players chiefly because they were bankrolled by BMC. "Should they fail to get sponsorship they won't be able to attract good players something that may destroy the quality of football in the north," said taxi driver Oteng Chalashika, a die-hard ECCO supporter.BMC has also enjoyed a good run in the league in recent years and Chalashika fears that the club may also experience bad fortunes or collapse if they do not secure a sponsor. Entlafetse Maje, a woman taxi driver of Mahalapye, shared Chalashika's sentiments.
