Notwane flirting with relegation
As the Easter festivities approach, the Botswana Football League gears up for a nail- biting relegation battle, with teams fighting tooth and nail to secure their place in the league for the upcoming season.
After 18 games, Nico United finds themselves at the bottom of the log standing with 15 points, closely followed by Police XI and Morupule Wanderers, both with 16 points. Holy Ghost and VTM hover just above the danger zone with 17 points each, while Masitaoka and Eleven Angels, with 19 points each, are also
within striking distance of the bottom. The upcoming fixtures promise to be crucial for the teams battling to avoid relegation. Holy Ghost faces
Tuelo Serufho of sabotaging his project following the termination of his contract to organize the event, with two years remaining of an initial three year agreement with World Athletics.
GDSA took the matter before the court of laws to seek redress and on Wednesday morning, a hearing was done at the High Court in Gaborone. The case which is now being treated as an urgent matter saw the applicant, GDSA, submit for an interdict to have all proceedings to stage the event halted, which has been successful as the interdict was granted.
The decision has thrown further doubt on the possibilities to have everything set for the 14th of April, 2024, as scheduled with the next hearing set for April 5th 2024.
“The issue was brought to court on urgency, an application to interdict the execution of the ongoing preparations for the event; the matter was found to be urgent and the interdict was issued, the interdict is against all parties for now with exemption to the World Athletics, the Ruck Group inc and Robert Wagner, who are yet to be served, but they will be sent emails this week,” legal representative of GDSA, Ishmael Matebele told BG Sport on Wednesday.
Last month, Dube poured his heart out to the public during a press briefing, he shared details of how certain parties including BNSC connived to have the contract of his company terminated by World Athletics, the BNSC denied the accusation and further outlined their efforts in supporting the event since its infancy stages.
“The allegations levelled against the BNSC suggesting that they are party to a scheme to disposa daunting challenge against Orapa United, Police XI visit Matebele FC, and Morupule Wanderers host Gaborone United in what is expected to be fiercely contested matches.
With the stakes higher than ever, coaches and players alike are aware of the gravity of the situation, emphasizing the importance of every remaining game. Tactics and strategies are expected to play a crucial role in the final phase of the league, as survival remains vital for most teams.
Despite the significance of each match, consistency remains a challenge for teams in the relegation battle. Every point earned will be crucial in determining the fate of these teams as they fight tooth and nail to secure their place in the league. With tensions running high and stakes higher than ever, football fans across Botswana are in for an sess the Golden Door Sports Agency ( GDSA) of the rights to the Botswana Golden Grand Prix are both untruthful and misleading,” the Commission responded at the time. Both parties, GDSA and BNSC were adamant that the event was likely to continue despite the differences experienced at the time, it however appears that chances are high for the event not to happen on the set date.
“I must be honest, after today [ court interdict] it will be very difficult to stage the event, it may not happen, already they are behind time in terms of the
preparations. I do understand that they [ BNSC] have been in talks with different managers of athletes but contracts haven’t been signed yet so to get everything done in less than two weeks is a tall order,” a source close to the local sport governing mother- body shared.
“They have been given the interim order and that means we cannot do anything until a judgment on the case has been made, that means there won’t be any preparations for the time being and that is all I can say for now,” Communications and Marketing officer at BNSC, Anderson Nlisana told BG Sport when contacted.
There has been accusations and counter- accusations with quarters accusing GDSA of failing to account for some funds while the latter argues that they are not contracted to BNSC and therefore are not obliged to provide their accounts to the local sport governing mother- body.
While a ceasefire between all concerned parties appears to be worlds apart, what is evident though is that the bubble of excitement ahead of this years’ event might not see the light of day. exciting and nail- biting conclusion to the season as the battle to avoid relegation unfolds. In addition to the relegation battle, the race for the league title has erupted between perennial rivals, Jwaneng Galaxy and Township Rollers. With both teams relentlessly jostling for the top spot, the competition has reached a fever pitch, captivating fans across the nation. Currently, Jwaneng Galaxy holds the coveted position at the summit of the league table with 44 points, closely followed by Township Rollers with 43 points. This weekend’s fixtures promise to be pivotal in shaping the league standings, with Township Rollers facing Eleven Angels and Jwaneng Galaxy taking on Nico United. Fans can expect a thrilling display of skill, determination, and passion as the battle for supremacy unfolds on the football pitch.
The merry go round on the technical department of the team has been seen as one of the contributing factors to the team’s decline in the league, notwithstanding the financial challenges faced by the club.
“Omphemetse Selwe was with the team at the beginning of the season, he played six games, won two, drew two, lost two and was two points adrift of log leaders, he was placed on sabbatical leave and for what? No one really knows. Thaloba Nthaga, who recently resigned, had asked to be brought in before the end of the January transfer window, the management failed to conclude negotiations with him on time, that is why he left after three games, he could not work with the group of players he found there; it is a seriously worrying situation,” one of the worried club supporters voiced his frustrations ahead of the encounter against Extension Gunners.
“We have been struggling, that is not a secret, we have been struggling to convert our chances and that is why we find ourselves in the position we are in right now, but we can get out of it provided we work hard, starting at training,” the club head coach, Tebele admitted.
“I have brought experienced guys much closer to the technical team, they are almost part of it; we do a lot of things together, we talk to the other players together, we agree on how we approach the games and basically we engage them on how we intend to help the team and it is paying dividends,” the coach expressed his contentment. Asked about the support of the management, the former Mochudi Centre Chiefs gaffer admitted that there are shortfalls by the management, he however was quick to highlight lack of resources as their main undoing rather than lack of interest or negligence to the course.
“To be honest they are struggling, but they are trying the best they can to help the team. In most cases they struggle to provide a lot of things needed by the team for positive results and to run the club smoothly; and am not saying they are not trying, they are but limited by lack of resources. That is why now we have decided to bring close some fans of the club and former players in order for them to help the team get out of the current position,” Tebele revealed.
Notwane claimed the scalp of another struggling giant, with a 2- 1 win over Extension Gunners on Saturday at SSG grounds in Gaborone to boost their chances of survival with six NFD matches remaining. “Through the difficult period, we’ve endured; the only thing we ever wanted was to get the three points which we knew would get us out of relegation zone, we got it, its water under the bridge. We move on to the next challenge and it will be against another tough opponent in Centre Chiefs after the holidays. We are now looking to get maximum points to completely stay out of trouble, we strongly believe, as management, players and supporters that we will not go down and there is light at the end of the tunnel. I’m one person who loves challenges, I like to test myself and am relishing the current situation,” Notwane head coach concluded.
Efforts to get hold of Notwane management and public relations office proved futile as this publication was pushed from pillar to post when seeking an update on the status of the team.