The suspended Kgatleng Regional Football Association’s (KRFA) executive committee has challenged the Botswana Football Association (BFA) over the handling of its arbitration case, after it was informed that the matter had not been submitted to the BFA Arbitration Tribunal. Suspended chairman, Moreetsi Kediseng, told MmegiSport that the development emerged during a meeting with acting BFA CEO, Bathusi Rathari, yesterday. The meeting was primarily convened to discuss the handover of football administration in Kgatleng to the BFA secretariat following the provisional suspension of the regional executive committee. According to Kediseng, the KRFA attended the meeting and indicated its willingness to cooperate with the interim administrative process. However, the delegation requested that the BFA formally communicate in writing what would be required from the committee for the handover. “Our cooperation with the handover should not be interpreted as an admission of any of the allegations made against the Committee or as a waiver of KRFA’s rights,” Kediseng said in an interview. However, the arbitration issue emerged as a significant point of concern during the meeting. He revealed the KRFA had lodged a Notice of Arbitration and Statement of Claim against the BFA on September 4, invoking Article 59.1 of the BFA Constitution. Kediseng said the committee subsequently followed up after receiving no communication from the Arbitration Tribunal. “During today’s meeting, the acting chief executive officer informed us that our case has not been submitted to the Arbitration Tribunal and indicated that BFA would not be submitting it,” he explained. Kediseng described the development as significant, saying KRFA had now formally written to the BFA requesting that its arbitration matter be transmitted to the Arbitration Tribunal. The regional association has also asked the BFA to provide the constitutional or regulatory basis for its position if it maintains that it will not transmit the matter. Kediseng said KRFA would continue pursuing remedies available within football structures whilst reserving its other rights. The arbitration dispute comes against the backdrop of the provisional suspension of the entire KRFA Regional Executive Committee by the BFA. He stated the meeting did not provide the suspended committee with a substantive explanation of the constitutional and procedural questions it has raised regarding the suspension. The suspension correspondence, he said, refers to Article 8 of the FIFA Statutes read together with Article 13.1 of the BFA Constitution. Kediseng said KRFA would seek a proper determination of those issues through the appropriate football structures rather than debate them publicly. Article 8 of the FIFA Statutes requires all bodies, officials, and anyone involved in football to follow FIFA's rules, regulations, decisions, and code of ethics, whilst also respecting the principles of fair play. “It is also important to emphasise that BFA’s own NEC resolution describes the suspension as an interim administrative measure pending investigation and not a final finding against any member of the KRFA executive committee,” Kediseng added. On the handover, he said there was no agreement beyond what had already been communicated by the BFA in its suspension decision. Kediseng said KRFA had requested that the handover requirements be provided formally in writing to ensure there was a clear record of what the BFA requires and what the regional association subsequently hands over. “Until that process is properly documented, we do not want to speculate about the detailed operational arrangements,” he said. In the meantime, the BFA secretariat is expected to oversee football administration in Kgatleng during the interim period. Kediseng urged KRFA affiliates, players, coaches, referees, schools, sponsors and other stakeholders to remain calm and cooperate with lawful administrative arrangements while awaiting official communication on competitions and other football activities. “To Bakgatla, we say: do not lose hope. We believe in due process and in the structures established to resolve football disputes. We will pursue the matter respectfully and through the appropriate channels," he said.
Kediseng said the committee remained confident in the football dispute resolution process and would be ready to resume its responsibilities should the competent structures determine that it should return to office. He stressed that the ongoing dispute should not derail football development in the region. “For now, our priority is that the players, clubs, schools and communities we serve should not become casualties of an administrative dispute. “Football in Kgatleng belongs to the people, and its development must continue regardless of who occupies office,” Kediseng said.
