In the midst of a Botswana Football Association’s (BFA) financial scandal over mismanagement of FIFA women football funds, the women's league season will go ahead uninterrupted with the winners pocketing P25,000.
This week, acting BFA chief executive officer, Tshepo Mphukhuti wrote to the clubs informing them that the leagues will kick off in February and run until the second week of May under the Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB) sponsorship.
The DTCB and BFA penned a three-year sponsorship deal for women’s football leagues worth P2.43 million and was initially to be in place at the start of the 2021/2022 season. The 2021/2022 DTCB Women Football League will, however, be played in just seven of the 17 regions, with 55 teams registered to play. In the letter, Mphukhuti said the women league football will once again be played at regional level. He said the regional champions will play for a national title in format to be decided.
The winners of the national playoffs will take home a P25,000 cheque, the highest prize money in the women’s game. The winners will also win a ticket to this year’s CAF Women’s Champions League. The second place prize is P15,000 and the third placed team will take home P10,000. Clubs will also receive P3,500 as mobilisation fee in preparation for the season while regions with more than four clubs registered in FIFA Connect will be awarded P3,000 as mobilisation fee.
Mphukhuti told Mmegi Sport that the on-going debacle at Lekidi Football Centre will not affect the women’s league action. “The BFA has an obligation to make sure that the leagues are played, including the women’s leagues. Regardless that FIFA sends money or not, the BFA has to fulfil that obligation, and the money is for development and administration and we cannot use that money for prize monies. So with or without the FIFA money, everything was already put in place for the women’s league to be played,” Mphukhuti said.
The seven regions; Gaborone, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Francistown, Selebi-Phikwe, Nhabe and Boteti will compete in the 2021/2022 season. Francistown region has the highest number of teams registered with 14; Gaborone is second with a team less whilst the other five regions have registered seven teams each.
The DTCB and BFA penned a three-year sponsorship deal for women’s football leagues worth P2.43 million and was initially to be in place at the start of the 2021/2022 season. The 2021/2022 DTCB Women Football League will, however, be played in just seven of the 17 regions, with 55 teams registered to play. In the letter, Mphukhuti said the women league football will once again be played at regional level. He said the regional champions will play for a national title in format to be decided.
The winners of the national playoffs will take home a P25,000 cheque, the highest prize money in the women’s game. The winners will also win a ticket to this year’s CAF Women’s Champions League. The second place prize is P15,000 and the third placed team will take home P10,000. Clubs will also receive P3,500 as mobilisation fee in preparation for the season while regions with more than four clubs registered in FIFA Connect will be awarded P3,000 as mobilisation fee.
Mphukhuti told Mmegi Sport that the on-going debacle at Lekidi Football Centre will not affect the women’s league action. “The BFA has an obligation to make sure that the leagues are played, including the women’s leagues. Regardless that FIFA sends money or not, the BFA has to fulfil that obligation, and the money is for development and administration and we cannot use that money for prize monies. So with or without the FIFA money, everything was already put in place for the women’s league to be played,” Mphukhuti said.
The seven regions; Gaborone, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Francistown, Selebi-Phikwe, Nhabe and Boteti will compete in the 2021/2022 season. Francistown region has the highest number of teams registered with 14; Gaborone is second with a team less whilst the other five regions have registered seven teams each.
