BFL players get jabbed
Botswana Football League Chairman, Nicolas Zakhem, in an interview with BG Sport, yesterday revealed that they have set next week to vaccinate players and staff members of the local elite league.
“We need to vaccinate our players and staff before we start the league, an agreement has been reached by the BFL board. We are in talks with the Ministry of Sports and the Ministry of Health. Before I came in, there was a bit of engagement but we have now accelerated the discussions. The Ministry is very much keen to help and we are hoping to start early next week with the vaccina
tion processes,” Zakhem shared.
Some teams have been vaccinated due to their participation in the CAF competitions. These are Orapa United and Jwaneng Galaxy, while majority of local players are however yet to receive their jabs. Zakhem said the health of players will not be compromised.
“The government has done very well in curbing down the spread of COVID- 19, people are relieved for now. We cannot undermine the effort that has been done by the government and as football people we don’t want to compromise the achievement of the government in fighting COVID- 19,” Zakhem stated.
The local league is set to be delayed
until at least the end of October or the first week of November, with vaccination drive for local players planned for next week. The agreement between the BFL and local health officers has been reached, with most of the health personnel currently serving the public, players’ vaccination is set to be given a priority next week.
“If we vaccinate the players next week, the 22nd of October which has been scheduled as the start of the league will be too soon for us to start. Some people have side effects of the vaccine and we have to allow the players to recover, which means the league is likely to start late October or early November,”
Zakhem said.
Botswana National Sports Council ( BNSC) CEO Tuelo Serufho has also in recent past called for sports leaders to take responsibility to ensure that sport plays a role in fighting the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, the local sport governing body released a statement communicating that return to the stadiums for fans will be in a phased manner, despite announcement by the government which allowed for mass gathering in event. The public has also been warned that the fight against the pandemic is still ongoing and therefore, COVID- 19 protocols must still be observed.