Gunners wallowing in debt
League status under threat
Extension Gunners are reportedly skating on a very thin ice relating to their status as a Botswana Football League ( BFL) outfit due to failure to satisfy club licensing requirements. The Peleng giants alongside at least four ( 4) BFL sides, have reportedly failed the litmus test to satisfy club licensing manual, which holds a ticket to compete in the local top tier league. The four clubs mentioned include, Morupule Wanderers, Extension Gunners, Mogoditshane Fighters and newly promoted Eleven Angels. The First Instance Body ( FIB), a body under the BFA responsible for issuing club licenses has been making assessments over the submissions made by the clubs, and early indications are that some teams have not met the set standards. The latest information gathered by this publication is that, for Extension Gunners and Mogoditshane Fighters, the challenge to tick all the boxes for compliance is nearly impossible.
Gunners are said to be facing a mammoth task to clear their overdue payables owed to former employees, amongst them, former coaches, Stanley Mwanga, Enos Mmesi and Tumi Duiker.
“They will need a miracle, their books don’t look good and it is really sad for the club of their stature. The sad part is that, when the people who are owed know that club licensing evaluations are made, they come forth and present their cases but for Gunners, unfortunately some of these cases have always been there,” a source at Lekidi shared.
The Peleng giants was also recently in hot soup over a possible transfer ban instructed by FIFA,
in a similar case which included outstanding payments of Zimbabwean international Kudzanai Machazani, amortization arrangement with BFA were made which satisfied the world football governing body. Contacted for comment, newly appointed Extension Gunners chairman, Bruno Masisi admitted that indeed the club has failed the club licensing manual but calmly relayed that the situation is under control. “We failed because of two issues, the first one was physiotherapist and secondly the debt that we find the club in. We tendered an appeal to First Instance Body [ FIB],
and on Monday it was our hearing. We have since appointed a physiotherapist, her license had expired but all have since been sorted out. As for our debts, it is difficult but we have engaged people we owe, and we came up with friendly payment plans that the club can manage,” Masisi shared.
“Almost all of them have agreed, except for one person, Mr Mwanga, who has already hit us with a garnish order from the industrial court; so the payment plan won’t work,“Gunners chairman