The football thrill is back as league begins

The Botswana football season finally kicks off this Friday in what is expected to be a title race of thrills and spills. With various premier league clubs having bolstered their squads both on the playing field and in their technical camps, it remains a premiership chase that is not easy to predict. 

What more with the initiatives that were announced this week, among which the beMOBILE Premiership will reward excelling players on a monthly basis for the first time in local football history. The unprecedented move that will see the introduction of the Player of The Month Award  is set to see players from across all clubs up their game in their quest to dominate the award that will have probably have a say in who is voted the Player of the Season. The award is also set to inject more excitement on the part of the football followers who will be given the mandate to decide each Player of the Month. Fans will vote throughout the year to determine the monthly winners in what may see players breaking legs to ensure they endear themselves to their often hard-to-please supporters. This in turn is set to induce passionate application on the part of the players, and thereby see teams producing exciting football across the club divide.

Besides, league sponsors Botswana Telecommunications Corporation and Botswana Premier League (BPL) this week paraded the new trophy that will replace the one won by Mochudi Centre Chiefs for the third time last season. There certainly will be more excitement and motivation as the elite league sides battle to become the first to hoist the new beMOBILE Premiership trophy. Some clubs are already wetting the appetites of many a football fanatics with the football hotshots they signed over the current transfer window.
Record champions Township Rollers lead the pack in terms of marquee signings ahead of their tricky clash against BDF XI at the National Stadium on Saturday night. The headline clash of the weekend is likely to see numerous stars that have been doing work in the South African ABSA Premiership, among them goalkeeper Kabelo Dambe from Platinum Stars and Mogogi Gabonamong from Bloemfontein Celtic, who will turn out for Rollers. The club has been busy on the market with several headline names signing for them. They also enlisted the services of coach Mark Harrison who has coached in both  Zimbabwe and South Africa.

The 2015 Barclays Kabelano Charity Cup champions also signed Galabgwe Moyana from Center Chiefs, and are further linked with a move for their former star Joel Mogorosi who has been playing with Gabonamong at Celtic. Their night game against BDF XI will certainly give an indication of how this title race will turn out.Another team that has been busy on the transfer market is Orapa United who finished second to Center Chiefs last season. With the belief that they missed out on the league crown by a whisker, the mining town club moved swiftly to sign players and coaches who have tasted league glory before. They made a swoop for multiple championship-winning coach Madinda Ndlovu who won the league on three consecutive years with Chiefs in 2012 and 2013, as well as with Rollers in 2014. Ndlovu took with him long time assistant Zakharia Mudzadzi who has always followed Ndlovu wherever he went. Although they have loaned Bogosi Nfila to Miscellaneous, the Ostriches have maintained the bulk of their stars but with additions of Kealeboga Molebatsi and Lesego Matoteng from Sankoyo Bush Bucks, as well as  Bonolo Fraizer from Centre Chiefs.

They also have in their ranks the services of former Gaborone United’s lethal striker Ronald Chikomo who fell out of favour with the club last season. The Orapa side play what will the first match of the season against Selebi Phikwe’s FC Satmos on Friday evening at the Itekeng Stadium inside the diamond-mining town.Reigning champions Centre Chiefs have not been doing well in their recent pre-season matches, losing to Rollers in the charity cup and to Extension Gunners in the Regent Matebejane Cup, but like all the other big guns of the country’s elite league, they have made clear their intentions to win their fourth title in five years. Their championship-winning coach Mike Sithole has been retained at the club despite reports last season linking the Zambian mentor with a move away from the club after the league. The core of their championship winning team almost remains intact despite the moves of Fraiser and Moyana, and they have brought in new faces like Jackie Motlhatlego and Mkhanyesile Siwahla to beef up their squad. They begin their title defence on Saturday afternoon in Molepolole against Mahalapye’s BR Highlanders.

The people of Lobatse also look likely to have a ball this season if the recent performance of their club Extension Gunners is anything to go by. The Peleng giants travel to Maun where they will come face to face with tricky adversaries Sankoyo Bush Bucks on Saturday night. Their scintillating performances in the recent pre-season cup matches against Rollers and Centre Chiefs told of a team that can cause major upsets towards the coveted crown. They recently employed Pio Paul as their new coach to show their seriousness about seeking to return the sleeping giants to glory days. The former Zebras’ assistant coach has assembled a bunch of players he believes are capable of holding their own against decorated sides such as Chiefs and Rollers. Paul himself is aware of the pressure he is under after the Gunners’ management demanded that he wins the league in his first season with the club.  He has a strong and balanced team despite losing talented players like Tshepo Maikano, Tshepo Molefhe and Katlego Koobake.

Premier league rookies FC Galaxy have employed former Sankoyo Bush Bucks coach Philani Mabena to assist Oris Radipotsane. Mabena has been Sankoyo’s source of inspiration as he ensured they stayed in the premier league last season. They signed the talents of Onkabetse Makgantai from Nico United to add to the already existing talents and experiences of Boitumelo Mafoko and Kenanao Kgetholetsile amongst others. The Jwaneng side will be at the SSKB Stadium on Saturday against Police XI. The SSKB Stadium will again host the only match on Sunday where Gilport Lions will host Gaborone United. The Reds have employed former Chiefs and Gunners coach Dragojlo Stanojlovic to be their technical director, and they have extended Rahman Gumbo’s contract as they try to wrestle the league crown from the clutches of rivals Chiefs and Rollers. For full fixtures of the beMOBILE Premiership, refer to pages 28 and 29.