But some clubs have expressed discomfort with the proposed arrangement. The system will be used to allocate grants to clubs during the current financial year. According to a letter to clubs from the BAA general manager, Pinkie Wilson, the proposed grant allocation for clubs will be according to existing club membership, consistency in attending, participating in competitions and meetings, and club status based on requirements of BAA. “Clubs in tier one will receive P65, 000 each whilst tier two clubs will each receive P35, 000. Tier three clubs are each to make a request from the remaining sum of P115,000,” Wilson said.
In an interview, the BAA vice president, Oabona Theetso, said there is a task force assigned to see how best to disburse the funds and they are yet to report on the matter. The Ramotswa Athletics Club chairperson, Harold Mosomane, told MmegiSport that the tier system was proposed by affiliates when the BAA informed them that there was P2 million to be allocated to clubs. “Clubs were requested to submit their thoughts on how the money can be disbursed. Some clubs did submit while others did not. The BAA board and secretariat also came up with their thinking, which they presented during the Special General Meeting (SGM),” he said. Mosomane explained that each region was requested to nominate a representative to be part of the finance committee that was tasked with consolidating all the ideas and coming up with one recommendation. “That was done, upon assessment of submissions, I suppose the committee put clubs into three tiers. As discussed, clubs in tier one should fully comply with all statutes and hold executive committee meetings and the Annual General Meetings (AGM). Such clubs should participate in all the BAA-organised activities,” he said.
Clubs in tier two should comply with all statutes, hold executive committee meetings and AGMs and honour the majority of the BAA-organised events. Tier three clubs should be affiliated with the BAA but struggling to take part in activities and have no structure at the club level. Such clubs are expected to be assisted by the BAA. “When the committee met, we expected that this be a guiding tool. We are still waiting to learn how clubs which are expected to be in tier one find themselves out, and those we did not expect to be in it. These tiers are primarily for the disbursement of money for this year and hopefully, they shall be reviewed annually,” Mosomane said. The Moroka Athletics Club chairperson, Moshe Gochela, said clubs are complaining about what he termed, "their own child". “It is the club managers who met and agreed that clubs should be categorised based on participation in the 2024 season. Initially, all clubs were requested to write their own submissions as to how the grants can be disbursed, and we have one common conclusion,” he said.
Gochela said after the BAA SGM, clubs were requested to elect regional representatives to go and look into the grant policy, which they did, and it is one that some clubs felt aggrieved about. “But for me, I think we can still make amendments to that policy because it is ours through making appropriate suggestions without just criticising or complaining because what we need is a working model for athletics. Mostly the complaints are a communication gap within the clubs, regional representatives, and managers forums, not forgetting that money by nature has its own divisive outcomes,” Gochela said.
For his part, the Maun Track and Field Club chairperson, Ralph Ledimo, said the new model is a welcome development. “It is awaiting approval from the affiliates even though some are not happy as they want to be in tier one. But we cannot all be there, some are competitive whilst others are not,” Ledimo said.
Proposed Tier One clubs: Francistown, Maun, Jwaneng, Lefika, Lion’s Den, Moroka, University of Botswana, Ramotswa, New Vision, Selebi-Phikwe, Mmadinare, BDF, Central, and Maun BDF
Proposed Tier Two Clubs: Sports View, Gaborone Runners, Gaborone Striders, Orapa, and Sua Pan
Proposed Tier Three Clubs: Matshelagabedi, Tlokweng, Lobatse, Serowe, Palapye, Molepolole, Werda, Nurturing and Pacemakers Development Club
