BFA proposes a 30-year stadium lease to F/town
Sport
Botswana Football Association (BFA) has proposed a takeover bid of the dilapidated and below standard Francistown stadium to the country’s second largest city in order to turn it into a world class sports facility.
Situated at Area S location here in Francistown, the stadium has been hosting premiership and First Division North League matches. However, it has no capacity to host international matches since it lacks some of the required facilities.
For many years, the City of Francistown has failed to upgrade sports facility. And due to lack of internationally acclaimed sports facilities in the country’s second largest city as well as the better northern part of the country, BFA has decided to lease the facility for 30 years.
In a draft memorandum of lease agreement with which the BFA envisages to enter into between the association and the City of Francistown, the Tebogo Sebego headed organization has proposed to upgrade the facility and pay a monthly rental of P2 500 to the council.
According to the proposal, the BFA has proposed to pay the monthly rental of P2 500 in advance and without any deduction, bank charges or commission whatsoever on or before the first business day of each and every succeeding month.
“The rental payable by the lessee to the lessor shall be the rental as escalated by 10 percent per annum on each anniversary of the commencement date,” reads part of the proposal document leaked to the WeekendPost Sport.
Furthermore, the BFA proposed that the lessee shall pay to the lessor interest at the rate of two percent per month on all overdue rentals or other legally demandable charges which interest shall be calculated as from the due date of such payments to the date of actual payment.
In addition to the monthly rentals, BFA has also proposed to take responsibility of electricity and water supplied to the leased premises, telephone connections and related expenses, sewerage charges relating to the leased premises and refuse collection.
To achieve all this, the BFA is looking forward to utilizing the Goal Project III funding from the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA). With Goal Projects one and two having benefited the southern part of the country through the construction of Lekidi village, the association is looking at spreading football developments across the country.
Early last year, BFA applied for Goal Project III funding and the funds will only be released when the world football governing body has assessed and gets satisfied that the project is in line with FIFA’s obligation in developing the world’s most beautiful game.
Both BFA and FCC confirmed that the two organization are working on a modality of transforming the Francistown stadium into an internationally recognized sport facility but could not be drawn into discussing much.
Sport
It’s do or die for Zebras
The senior national team, the Zebras, is currently in Equatorial Guinea to for an African Cup of Nations Qualifiers tie. Before they departed, the team’s coach, Mogomotsi Mpote, had his troops train in Morocco. This was through the agreement between the two countries.
The agreement between the BFA and the Fédération Moroccan Football Association states that the two nations will work together to organize friendly matches between their respective national teams. It also allows the establishment of football camps for the youth categories (U-15, U-17, and U-20), this includes women’s national teams.
The national team has played over 180 minutes in its two qualifying matches against Tunisia and Libya. Currently, the Zebras, Lesotho and Liberia are the only teams that haven’t scored yet in the competition (this is correct by press time on Friday).
Before the match against Equatorial Guinea match, the local boys who were once known as the whipping boys of Africa in the early 2000s, were languishing at the bottom of the log standings in group J. They lost their first match away to Libya on June 1, 2022. However, they managed to salvage a point against Tunisia last year.
Before the team left for Equatorial Guinea, coach Mpote urged his players to focus on keeping their hopes of making a return trip to the AFCON finals alive after an 11 year absence since the maiden appearance in 2012. He noted that they would not allow their opponents to score and would ensure that they would get a draw.
Despite the various changes that have occurred in the two countries’ football landscape, the two teams have only met once before. In 2010, the local boys defeated the Equatorial Guinea team in a friendly match, which ended in an emphatic win for the visitors. Since then, the two sides have realised different fortunes in FIFA rankings, with Equatorial Guinea ranked 51 places above the Zebras.
Meanwhile, in their last six games, Guinea has only managed to win one of them. They drew with Rwanda and Togo in September 2022 friendlies. They have found the back of the net just twice in their six games. On the other hand, the Zebras, won one match against Zambia and lost four on their way to finishing at the bottom of the group with four points. At the conclusion of their previous AFCON campaign, the local boys traveled to Zambia and secured a draw.
MPOTE CONFIDENT
Despite the recent results of the Guinean team, which have only managed to draw with Rwanda and Togo in their last six matches, coach Mpote is still confident that his team will perform well against the hosts.
According to the head coach, the local boys have the necessary skills and resources to perform well against any country. He noted that the team’s coaches have been studying abroad to gain a deeper understanding of the various aspects of football.
“Tactically they should also be ready. We need your (Botswana fans) usual support, when we come back from Equatorial Guinea, we will go to Francistown, and we will need you. You are our 12th player, and you are very important to us.”
OBED ITANI CHILUME STADIUM CERTIFIED
This week, the Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) Tuelo Serufho revealed that the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium will host the return leg of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between the local boys and Equatorial Guinea. The venue had initially failed an inspection test conducted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). However, following the completion of the necessary works, the stadium was allowed to host the match.
According to BNSC Chief, Tuelo Serufho, the various requirements that the stadium must meet included having a designated parking area for the media and spectators, as well as having signage that will guide the spectators. He also noted that the venue now has a world-class media area.
Sport
Jagdish Shah rejects Rollers society
Township Rollers, one of the country’s most decorated football clubs with 15 premier league titles, is finding itself in a precarious situation as its long-term chief financier, Jagdish Shah, threatens to dump them if the society does not bow down to his demand of forfeiting their 20 percent interest in the company.
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Sport
Orange injects P350 000 into Phikwe marathon
Mobile network Orange Botswana is committed to supporting the development of local sport. Through its sponsorship, the company will be able to promote and market the sport. According to Maano Masisi, the company believes that sport can unite people from different backgrounds.
He stated that through the sponsorship of the marathon, the company will help promote healthy lifestyles and unity among the people of Selebi Phikwe.
The Selebi Phikwe Marathon is scheduled to take place on July 29, 2023. It is expected that it will attract international, regional, and social runners. A total of P216 000 has been allocated for the prize money for the first ten places in the 42.2 km race. For the 15km and 10km races, the LOC will give away prizes to the first five places.