Former Botswana Football Association (BFA) president, Tebogo Sebogo says he is saddened following a recent decision to trim Premier League teams from 16 to 12.
The Botswana Football League (BFL) recently announced a phased reduction of the Premier League teams starting next season.
Four teams will be relegated at the end of the 2023-2024 season, with only two promoted. The following season four will be relegated and two promoted, which will mean only 12 sides remain in the league. The reasons advanced are that the league is bloated amid constricted resources.
"Waitse um [sic] sitting here thinking about this game..ke kgobegile marapo waitse. The constitutional amendments made by the back door that result in further regressive decisions. Um [sic] sitting here thinking about reduction of teams from 16 to 12 and how it's going to affect football and kill our chances of continental competitions.
I think guys dont [sic] really understand why we increased the number of teams to 16," he said on social media. "We even thought of 18 or 20 at some point. Elite players need to play a minimum of 45 to 50 games a year. Most serious nations have their players averaging 60 in order for them to be competitive.
Imagine your national team coming to play with a team whose average is 60 game [sic] and your [sic] have less than 28 games," he added. He said the decision would mean fewer minutes for top-flight footballers which in the long run will affect their endurance.
"We will start playing good football for the first 30–40 mins and lose games in the second half as we used to. I am very very sad with some of these decisions. They are anti-football and based on lack of knowledge of the game. When people don't understand the game but make serious and far-reaching decisions it pains [me]," he said.
