The Debswana First Division North League Committee has been criticized for poor governance and lack of progress for over the past years which complainants say it subsequently impact negatively on local teams.
Maun United Terrors Manager Kebonyethebe Dikgathatso has complained that since its establishment the committee has failed to resolve challenges faced by teams in the region despite having acknowledged being aware of them.
Calling for the removal of the current committee Dikgathatso argued that clubs do not benefit anything from the committee therefore there is a need to form the one that will address issues surrounding the participating teams.
Dikgathatso said the teams participating in the league have to travel long distances to honour their fixtures, unlike those from the Southern region which travel shorter distances to attend their games usually within Gaborone and the surrounding areas.
“On weekends we travel more than 600km to attend away games and that requires a lot of money but only P55 000 is secured for each participating team during the commencement of the first round, as Maun Terrors we only spend the amount in three weekends then it finishes,” Dikgathatso told Times Sport.
He lamented that his club started the first round of the league very well but ended up with low performance as a result of different challenges that are facing the club such as financial constraints, psychological pressure and injuries.
Dikgathatso also raised a concern about the frequent change of venues by some of the host teams during the away games. He highlighted that in most instances following an agreement with the host teams to use the desired venue, the hosts end up changing the venue at the last moments as such that causes inconveniences and puts psychological pressure on their players.
“When the host team changes the venue frequently we end up travelling unexpected long distances and overspend the money to attend the games,” he pointed out.
He highlighted that they recently failed to attend their away game against Motlakase Power Dynamos which was supposed to be held at Palapye but the venue was changed to Pilikwe at the last minute. Consequently Terrors automatically lost three points to Motlakase.
Sankoyo Bush Bucks Manager, Colin Sebako has also raised concern about the delays in awarding the funds to the league participating teams. He explained that the P55 000 given to the teams at the beginning of the season is not paid in full. This he said puts the teams under financial pressure when they have to travel long distances to honour fixtures.
Sebako has also encouraged the committee to restrict the league games hosts from rescheduling the game venues.
For his part, Debswana First Division North League Committee Member Kgato Motai explained that both teams in the north and south league will always be mandated to travel long distances because of the regional locations. He urged the participating teams to always be prepared to travel long distances because that is mandatory for the league to succeed.
On the matter of ever-changing football match venues, Motai said that it is upon each and every team that hosts the games to choose the playground they want to use for the games. He explained that the venues may only be changed as a result of natural disasters. Motai also elaborated that at the beginning of every league season each team is given an opportunity to choose the playground they want to use as first option and second option. He highlighted that if the playground that was chosen by a certain team as first option does not fulfil the league committee inspection requirements then another playground will be preferred as second option.
Motai said he is aware that some teams in the league are facing financial problems more especially because of the Covid-19 pandemic that left many football fraternities stranded. He revealed that as the committee they are trying by all means to reach the business community to assist the league with some funds to assist the teams. He also said that as the committee they have some funds that the teams can borrow and return it under agreed conditions. Motai further urged the teams to approach different stakeholder for sponsorships to seek help on the issues they are facing.
