A Kerfuffle looming

and will judge without fear or favor.” The BFA have previously been accused of meddling into the affairs of the BFL, something which reportedly caused a serious rift between the BFL Chairman, Nicolas Zakhem and BFA president. The Gaborone United director at one point issued a public apology, after declaring that he supported Letshwiti in the build- up to the BFA’s elective congress in 2020. The BFA at its elective general assembly in 2020, granted the Botswana Premier League and First Division Leagues their autonomy which led to the formation of the Botswana Football League. In their first season, the BFL could not source sponsorships but finances were made available to help clubs, mainly with grants to aid smooth running of the league. Whilst everything on the field of play was relatively acceptable, the boardroom wars were a frequent feature in the league and attracted far more attention than football itself. There were warning signs from the onset, the first appointed chairman of the league, Aryl Ralebala was forced to resign within six months amid reports of his business interactions with the BFA.

Ralebala’s dealings with BFA were considered to be against the practices of corporate governance; mainly because he sat on the board of the BFA National Executive Committee ( NEC) by virtue of his position at BFL. Ralebala was replaced by Gaborone United director, Nicolas Zakhem but his tenure will forever be remembered by the infamous Onkarabile Ratanang’s registration saga which almost brought the league to a stand- still. With the league almost at half- way point, the news broke that the Township Rollers left full- back, whose attacking prowess are unquestionable, was registered outside the registration period, a case which led to the suspension of Sidney Magagane, Motshegetsi Mafa and BFA’s former officer, Setete Phuthego. While the investigations went on, the matter was deemed by close observers to be just a case of erstwhile friends who have had a fall out between Jagdish Shah and Nicolas Zakhem, also spiced up by the fact that their clubs were in a close contention to win the league. The developments, as tension continued to grow, were labelled as ‘ disgusting’ by the Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, Tumiso Rakagare, who called for ceasefire among football leaders with Botswana and

Namibia ( BONA) looking to bid and host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. However, recent developments suggest that Zakhem and Jagdish have smoked a peace pipe and their proposed plan to have ‘ UNITY CUP’ encounter between their clubs has fallen through as the season is about to start. The Unity Cup game was planned for this weekend according to close sources and Township Rollers and Gaborone United ladies teams were to curtain raise the one day football tournament with the men’s team playing later on the day to signal reunion and peace between the two bosses. Other than the challenge to secure the venue for games, some members of the two sides declined the proposal as they felt the season is about to start and the 4th of November will see the two giants clash in a league encounter.