The item was up for discussion at the recent BFL Annual General Assembly in Palapye, and will now form part of the agenda for next month's Botswana Football Association (BFA) General Assembly. Under the current arrangement, FNB Premiership clubs are allowed to sign up to five foreign players but can only utilise three on match day. But clubs want to be given permission to utilise all five, and not only name three on the bench. The issue of reducing foreign players from five to three was first mooted in 2008 and has been part of subsequent BFL (then Botswana Premier League) general assembly discussions. In a bid to promote local talent development, clubs agreed to allow three foreign players on match day sheets although five can be registered per season. In 2022, clubs requested that they be allowed to register five foreign players, but the restriction on the use of three on match day remained. At the recent Palapye meeting, it was moved that clubs be permitted to make use of all their registered internationals. "The motion was debated and adopted again at the BFL AGA in Palapye. A more compelling motion has thus been crafted and submitted to the BFA AGA for open-minded consideration," said outgoing BFL chief executive, Benett Mamelodi.
The motion has to go through the BFA general assembly, despite the mother body reinstating the league's autonomy, which had been revoked due to internal leadership wrangles prior. "The league's autonomy is regulated by the MoA (Memorandum of Agreement) between the BFA and BFL, which should be finalised soon," Mamelodi added. However, some club officials argue that the BFL should exercise its autonomy and take some decisions that directly affect its affiliates without going through the BFA. In 2023, the BFA announced that only foreign players with three or more caps can be signed. However, this has not been implemented.
