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BFA admits need for blueprint as investor craze hits local league

New direction: Gunners investor Ally Kgomongwe (all black) with players PIC: KENNEDY RAMOKONE
New direction: Gunners investor Ally Kgomongwe (all black) with players PIC: KENNEDY RAMOKONE

An ‘investor’ craze has hit the local shores with fans closely following developments, amidst hope the positive signs would lead to an upturn in fortunes for cash-strapped Premier League sides. With more and more investors arriving, the governing body, the Botswana Football Association (BFA) has acknowledged the need to develop a blueprint to guide the clubs through a delicate process, reports Staff Writer MQONDISI DUBE

The buzzword in the local game this season has been ‘investor’. From Township Rollers, through Mochudi Centre Chiefs, over the valleys of Lobatse at Extension Gunners to the dusty home ground of Notwane’s Sechaba, the winds of change are sweeping through.

It is the actualisation of a plan born nearly two decades ago through a document known as the Bosele Declaration. For the uninitiated, the Bosele Declaration came into being after clubs realised that running teams from the boots of cars was no longer sustainable, and committed to moving towards a professional set-up.

In some quarters, particularly under the Maclean Letshwiti regime, the word commercialisation gained traction but the jury is still out on the project. As it becomes increasingly apparent that running clubs as a society was the albatross around the local game’s neck, more and more sides are seeking the tailwind to propel their development forward. This change has come in the form of investors.

These investors, from all walks of life, have responded positively. However, the game is still reeling from the infamous Munhumutapa and Gift Mogapi infractions, a development which left a bitter taste for the football fraternity.

It bred scepticism on the one hand, but on the other, the two flash points have also meant clubs are more eagle-eyed and diligent. Due diligence has been the keyword in recent negotiations with clubs keen to avoid the Munhumutapa and Mogapi moments.

The likes of Nicholas Zakhem, Jagdish Shah, and Saeyed Jamali have taken control at Gaborone United, Rollers and Chiefs with a notable degree of success.

Earlier local businesspersons, Ernest Molome and Somerset Gobuiwang, had set the ball rolling. Although under their control, the model was still in part society, where the fans had a say and the administration was not fully professional.

With clubs constantly urged to abandon what is clearly becoming an unsustainable form of running football through societies, there has been a vertiginous mindset shift. This has resulted in an influx of investors and more sides are expected to commit and surrender the running of their clubs to investors.

The floodgates were slow to open due to the scepticism after some clubs hit speed bumps in their quest to go professional.

Chiefs felt they did not get their returns from a purported P68 million deal with DC Tours and it was promptly ended.

Some clubs have often faced pitfalls, resulting in conflict between the executive and the investor. Chiefs were recently back in the news after terminating a deal with local investor, Jimmy Kereng, who was previously at Rollers and has now resurfaced at First Division side, Magosi, now renamed Dinare.

Chiefs are now under a South African entity, Stanton Fredricks Sports Group who have been handed the mandate to run the club for 15 years, which seems an eternity under the circumstances. Rollers also witnessed upheavals when Shah left the club in a lurch in 2023 in an acrimonious divorce. GU had its own fair share of administrative challenges before director, Zakhem’s return to take full charge.

Notwane suffered the consequences of failing to do proper due diligence on the then-new investor, Mogapi, who promised heaven on earth but it all folded into a nightmare.

“We have taken note of the challenges that are experienced between teams and investors.

Therefore, we will work on a blueprint that will govern both the investors’ and the teams’ relationship, ordinarily to protect both parties,” the BFA CEO, Mfolo Mfolo, told MmegiSport.

With the dominant society model facing a certain exit after falling out of touch with modern trends, clubs are open to investment from private partners.

The result has seen the traditional crowd pullers attract investors, with three at Chiefs, Gunners, and Rollers, coming from outside the country. Rollers are under Zimbabwean businessman, Tendani Sebata, whilst South African, Ally Kgomongwe, is now calling the shots at Gunners.

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