Kills could become hard to come by for an animal that has been so dominant across Africa's savanna plains. The FNB Premiership officially welcomed its own apex predator last week Tuesday with the launch of Black Lions at the Cresta Lodge, as domestic action returned earlier than usual. But will Black Lion's roar instil fear in an animal kingdom that has proved unkind, particularly for newcomers in the jungle. Whilst the Lions are the undisputed kings in the jungle, Black Lions find themselves in a perilous territory already stacked up with its own kings. From the reigning kings, Gaborone United, to Township Rollers, Jwaneng Galaxy, Mochudi Centre Chiefs, and Sua Flamingoes, the Black Lions face a gargantuan dethroning job. Despite the evident brute power that already exists within the FNB Premiership landscape, Black Lions director, Tendani Sebata was defiant, declaring his team is ready for the league's harsh weather. "In June, I took the first step to register Black Lions to compete in Division Two. I had not just a vision to start a club but wanted to build a meaningful and lasting vision," he said.
Lions' general manager, Harry Koata was equally belligerent, insisting that Lions is a force to reckon capable of going shoulder-to-shoulder with the league's other predators. The launch was laced with unending messages of the good times that lie ahead on the green fields across the vast Botswana landscape. The golden future time is coming sooner or later, as Black Lions envisage revolutionising the local football's topography. But the Lions are on the prowl in an undulating and unforgiving terrain littered with bare-knuckled obstacles. They came to the Premiership through acquiring the status of VTM, an ambitious football project that is the brainchild of businessperson, Vincent Mafuta. Mafuta was a guest at the Black Lions launch and took to the podium to encourage the newcomers. One had to have their cognitive function in full throttle to decipher Mafuta's message hidden under layers of hope and encouragement to Black Lions. "VTM is not dead, we took a bold decision to swap status with Black Lions. It was after looking at our vision that we don't want to be in the highest competition just for three points. We have a lot to do to build a product in this country," was Mafuta's innocent message that was however laced with innuendos. If there is a person who has carried the heavy cross of financing football from their pocket it is Mafuta and he knows the trials and tribulations of running a club in a league that still carries little financial rewards. Many clubs have entered the treacherous Premiership terrain possessing all the hope and bravado, but some have folded under the weight of expectation. Clubs like ECCO City Greens, BMC, Mogoditshane Fighters, TASC, GNT, and Black Peril stand as grim markers of the Premiership's unforgiving nature. But Sebata would argue that he is not a novice in Botswana football, having been at the same Cresta Lodge room last year to announce his arrival on the local scene with popular side, Township Rollers.
