BFA GRANTS BPL AUTONOMY
The Botswana Football Association (BFA) general assembly on Saturday unanimously agreed to give the Botswana Premier League (BPL) the much sought after autonomy. For many years, BPL sides have argued that for their growth, the structure which runs the league competition should be granted an autonomous status.
The BPL has been yearning for autonomy, but it has remained under the shadow of the mother body, the Botswana Football Association (BFA) and not been able negotiate its contracts.
Their wishes were granted on Saturday when the general assembly agreed to hand both the elite league and the First Division autonomy. The structure will be admitted into the BFA as a special member and it will be known as the Botswana Football League. In that case, the structure will be allowed to source its sponsorships and cut deals without the seeking the approval of the BFA as in the past when the mother body was the signatory of all BPL deals. A private company running under the name Botswana Football League (Pty) Limited was recently registered which will run the affairs of both the elite league and the First Division.
The assembly however, rejected the motion to change the local football season calendar to February/ November. The association had proposed the change, which would have also prompted a change in the transfer period. In a statement last month, the BFA announced that the transfer window would open December 1, 2020 and close in the midnight of February 22, 2021. “The above registration period is informed by a decision of the NEC (National Executive Committee) of 16th August 2020 to place before the General Assembly, a statutory amendment motion to facilitate for the change of the Botswana Football Season Calendar from August to May to February to November,” part of the BFA statement read at the time.
However on Saturday, the delegates rejected the proposal citing several reasons. One of the reasons was that local football is semi professional at the moment and that other teams would not be able to afford morning training sessions. They argued that some of the players have jobs elsewhere and only available for training after working hours. They were of the view that it will compromise competition. The other issue was that winter times would become unfavorable. It now remains to be seen how the newly elected BFA National Executive Committee goes about the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic giving them sleepless nights.