Notwane lose out in Metropolitan deal?
Sport
The euphoria that prevailed at the Gaborone International Convention Centre (GICC) in August when Notwane Fotball Club and Metropolitan Insurance Company tied the knot has vanished, leaving a bitter taste for the former.
Notwane feel that they have been used while insurance company chiefs continue to smile all the way to the bank as they have so far lost nothing in the deal.
The club signed the deal due to financial struggles especial after a woeful season under the leadership of alleged ‘charlatan’ Gift Mogapi as the club tried to boost its coffers through convincing its loyal fans to join the Metropolitan funeral cover scheme.
The team is expected to get a certain percentage by June next year, but thus far supporters are still dragging their feet, leaving club chiefs with somber faces as they feel betrayed by their supporters. They believe the insurance firm could have done more to help them.
With the insurance company given a space on the shoulder of the team’s shirt, Metropolitan continued to get coverage from various mediums and all indications are that the Metropolitan chiefs are delighted at being given the mileage they had envisaged.
The company has not paid a single thebe despite all the benefits accruing from the deal.
Speaking to this publication, Notwane FC mouthpiece Ace Podi Mooki confirmed that its progress was painfully slow.
‘’It is true the registration by our supporters is at a snail’s pace, but we are optimistic that the numbers will increase because we have revived our dead supporters branch and hopefully more of our fans will join the cover,’’ he said.
However, in the supporters’ meeting held on 23 September at Notwane Club they made it clear to the top brass that the idea was not feasible. The contended that no one wanted to be associated with death.
‘’It is uncommon for people to invest in their deaths more especially that the majority of us have covers that are running so this (Metropolitan) cover is not viable,’’ one of the prominent supporters argued then.
They continued on to say ‘’you should have come up with a better idea not about death,” but this raised question of whether supporters were not consulted before the project was endorsed.
At a time of going to press, Mooki would not disclose the numbers that have registered with the cover, saying they would release an official statement next month after briefing their partners.
Under the deal it was envisaged that supporters would acquire membership cards that included funeral cover, a silver card at P51.60, gold at P62.40 and platinum card at P73.20 with the team expected to get P30 from all them.
Meanwhile, Notwane is expected to reap the fruits in June next year and fans are encouraged to register with the cover in large numbers.
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