ANGELS HOST POPA
Angels, who have played all their home games at the 26,000-seater stadium, registered their displeasure at the sudden change of venue, indicating they were unable to honour the fixture in Serowe due to lack of finances.
Thus, at 11am, the Botswana Premier League (BPL) made their second amendment in two days, rescheduling the match for 4pm on Saturday, but this time at the Old Francistown Stadium - a slightly baffling decision considering the old ground was deemed unsuitable for top flight football at the start of the season.
Blasting the confusion, Rollers Public Relations Officer (PRO), Phempherethe Pheto, told Voice Sport the uncertainty has affected their entire approach to the weekend encounter.
He explained football, for Popa, is not just confined to the field of play.
“We have merchandise teams, membership drives and other initiatives such as Unayo from our sponsors, Stanbic Bank, which are part of our weekend activities. We had initially planned to do membership drives at areas such as Mathangawane but, when the fixture was moved to Serowe, we had to cancel and engaged the Palapye branch for an activation. Unfortunately, the fixture was moved back to Francistown; the whole thing has been confusing to both our supporters and players,” criticised Pheto.
He revealed that when the fixture was changed for the first time, they had already booked accommodation in Francistown, which they were forced to cancel.
“We couldn’t find accommodation in Serowe, so we ended up booking in Mahalapye, but had to cancel when the match was finally moved back to Francistown.”
Pheto also felt that the decision to take the game to the old stadium is unwise and disadvantages Angels, who were looking to cash in on gate takings.
“The BPL overlooked issues of security when they settled for this stadium. The old stadium is not good for football, and this decision is taking football backwards. Football has to grow from all angles, but such decisions are not helping,” fired Pheto.
His concerns were echoed by bemused Angels founder and Head Coach, Seemo Mpatane.
“It is all too confusing. We cannot even advertise this match because we don’t have a venue, date and time,” highlighted Mpatane, speaking to Voice Sport before the game was rescheduled for Ghetto.
Despite the unsettling late changes, the coach said his youthful players were eager to face Rollers.
“These are the kind of games you look forward to when you gain promotion to the top league. My players are looking forward to playing against their idols such as Tsotso Ngele. I don’t even have to motivate them, they’re excited and can’t wait to test themselves against arguably the biggest team in the country,” said Mpatane, whose side have happy memories of the old stadium, where they famously secured promotion with a 5-0 thrashing of Mochudi Centre Chiefs.
‘Lekgamu la Bananyana’ have equipped themselves well in their first season in the elite division, managing a respectable 14 points from their opening 12 games to occupy 10th position in the log.
Ahead of their meeting with Mapalastina, Angels picked up a valuable point on the road, holding BDF XI to a 0-0 draw to collect their first points of the new year.
“It’s not an easy feat to draw away to BDF. I’m happy with the point, but Saturday will be a totally different ball game,” admitted Mpatane, who stressed the importance of keeping it tight right from the start and not conceding an early goal against a Rollers outfit now led by Portuguese tactician, Sergio Daniel Moniz Tranquill.
Mpatane will also be concerned about the lack of goals at the other end of the pitch.
After thumping fellow newbies, Holy Ghost, 3-0 just before Christmas, the Francistowners have failed to find the back of the net in 2023, their goalless stalemate with the soldiers coming on the back of twin 2-0 losses to Police XI and Orapa United.
The barren run coincided with the absence of their talented attacker, Monty Enosa, who was in Europe for trials. The 18-yearold wonderkid started the match against BDF XI, but was unable to inspire Mpatane’s side to victory.
“We surely missed him. He gives us shape when he’s around. We create a lot of chances, we just have to bury them!” the coach said about his prized young asset, who is expected to leave for Europe anytime soon after impressing in Denmark.
Barring any further changes, kick-off is 1600hrs at the Old Francistown Stadium.