Notwane’s fate hangs in the balance
Sport
Notwane Football Club’s presence in the First Division South league is under threat. The team is virtually treading on thin ice following the decision by the Botswana Football Association (BFA) to file for an appeal with the Botswana National Sports Commission (BNSC) Appeal’s board this week.
WeekendSport sources say that the mother body is challenging the judgement of the disciplinary committee that saw the troubled outfit win a slight reprieve after taking football matters to the courts of law.
The court had ruled that Toronto, as they are affectionately called, be given a fairer opportunity to be heard as to why they eventually resorted to the court of law. Notwane had argued that the Association deliberately sat on their complaint until time had elapsed causing their slipping into the relegation zone. The team had complained that Sankoyo Bush Bucks had fielded a defaulter against them and as per BFA play rules and regulations they should have been given 3 points and 2 goals in the event the perpetrator was found guilty.
While the Selibe Phikwe based outfit, FC Satmos would later benefit from the same circumference of complaint, they cried foul that it was a doomsday’s conspiracy to see them exiting the elite league. They have proved that their complaint reached relevant BFA authorities well on time coupled with the required fee.
The committee found out that Notwane’s matter was not adequately deliberated on and they had no choice but to approach the court on a matter of urgency. The once mighty club was later fined BW P4000.
However, it is this judgement that has irked the Association who feel that Notwane‘s transgressions were as grave as those of BDF XI and heavy punishment should have been imposed. BDF, too, once took matters involving football to be tried at a court of law and were later fined BWP 10 000 and lost 6 points. Should Notwane escape the trap, observers say, BFA would receive harsh back lash since it would be seen to be applying double standards.
All the while, sources within the BNSC say it is a gamble and the case might not see the light of day because of the makeup of the committee. They say the committee has not been given powers to make key decisions and this case might as well turn into a ghost file.
A feeling of self-inflicted pain had pervaded Notwane Football Club family after the court of appeal dismissed the team’s plea of being given a fairer hearing before the determination of who survives the relegation and who stays in the elite league is made for finality.
Even though Justice Lesetedi threw out their plea arguing that they took a lengthy time to apply for a plea and also that they had already played the play-off match against FC Satmos, Notwane was brought under the BFA scalpel but surprisingly emerged victorious.
No further actions were taken until the time the team was relegated to the lowest division. Meanwhile, BFA, it is said, believes that the team should be severely punished or be expelled from football.
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“The sports economy worldwide is estimated at 5% of GDP, but only 0.5% in Africa. If exploited, Africa’s sports and creative industries can offer policymakers innovative solutions. Especially, as regards job creation, and providing employment to the 15 million people entering the job market annually.”
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He said supporting grassroots sports has powerful distributional effects. “Fortunately, technology has made reaching wide audiences easier, generating higher rates of success when talent is discovered.”
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