Mamelodi to quell BFL disputes
The Botswana Football League ( BFL)’ s newly appointed acting CEO, Bennett Mamelodi, said for the next five months he will be focusing on creating a solid foundation for the league’s administration despite the ongoing tension between the BFL shareholders and the board. This tension has been on- going for months, and Mamelodi is determined to bring stability to the league by the end of the season.
Bennett Mamelodi was appointed as the acting CEO of the Botswana Football League ( BFL) last week, despite furning ignorance of such development. He will be holding the position for the next five months. He has stated that he is eager to tackle the big job ahead, as there is a lot of work that needs to be done in order to bring stability to the league’s administration.
He steps into the role amid ongoing tension between the BFL board and shareholders, which is still unresolved.
“My top priority during my fivemonth tenure as BFL CEO is to bring stability to the league’s administration. Once that is achieved, I will focus on making progress and implementing changes that I’m not ready to announce yet. By the end of the season, I hope to have the league in a better place than it is now,” Mamelodi said.
“I know that there is tension between the BFL board and shareholders, and the Botswana Football Association. I’ve heard the same things that everyone else has. But I think it’s important to remember that we’re all in this because we love football. Football unites people, it doesn’t divide them. We all need to work together to reach our common goal, which is to grow and improve the game of football,” he added.
Mamelodi highlighted that some of his goals is to establish stability, progress, and commercial viability league. He recognized that all of the teams involved need money to sustain themselves, and that the growth of the league would be a benefit to everyone.
He expressed his hope that by the end of his tenure, he would have left the league in a better place than when he started. He emphasized the importance of laying a solid foundation for the future, as the next season would be a step into the unknown.
“The league was in good shape when I was appointed, the fixtures were running smoothly, the games were being televised, and we had sponsors on board. But it’s not enough. We need to increase revenue and share it with the clubs. We need to make the league commercially viable, and that means giving clubs the tools they need to be sustainable,” he noted.
“We need to bring the hype and excitement back to the league. People need to come to the stadiums and support their teams. Football is about entertainment, and we need to compete with other forms of entertainment by communicating more effectively. We need to show fans why they should come out and watch our games,” he noted.