WHAT JAGDISH WANTS ...as Sha demands respect from Popa
Township Rollers football club may be facing its biggest crisis yet as their outgoing president and financier, Jagdish Sha, threatens to pull the plug on his investment if the club doesn't comply with his demands. With just a few months left, the clock is ticking for the multiple league champions as Sha has set a strict deadline of May 31st, 2023 for his ultimatum to be met.
Sha, who owns a whopping 80% stake in the club, has made it clear that he wants complete control over the Botswana Football League outfit and will stop at nothing to get it. His sights are set on the remaining 20% owned by the Society and represented by lawyer Kgosi Ngakaagae. Sha's message to the club is seemingly loud and clear: give me what I want or face the consequences.
As the drama unfolds, it remains to be seen how Township Rollers will respond to Sha's bold move. Will they bow down to his demands and risk losing the little autonomy they have left? Or will they stand firm and face the wrath of an unrelenting president and financier? The clock is ticking, and time is running out for Popa to make a decision that could change its fate forever.
Arguably one of the most valuable sporting brands in the country, Township Rollers is likely to lose everything they got from Sha, and so it is up to the club board to decide whether to keep Sha or let him go and start afresh since the only thing he is willing to give the club for free is membership software and social media passwords. Some supporters have suggested that Sha has to allow the society to co-exist with the structure he wants to form or they will just go back to where it all began at the dusty Mmamasire grounds in Gaborone west. Sun Sport is in possession of a leaked letter in which an unrelenting Sha addressed to Rollers board members on the 27th
February 2023, Sha wrote: “The society should have been de-registered with the supporters body assuming a different identity and that has not happened, yet I am disrespected and unappreciated. I expected the general membership of Rollers, to always treat me with respect, appreciate my sizeable investments in the team, and support my commercial initiatives, including decision making in the club.”
According to the same letter, he specified that if the board does not consider his demands, he shall close the TRFC office, terminate the lease for accommodation, terminate the lease for the training field, withdraw all the vehicles including the bus, give the society team merchandise at a cost, give notice to Jamali for the houses and training field and withdraw the free usage of Jacks Gym by Township Rollers at the end of the ongoing season.
The letter further reads that the Society should start re-negotiating with players who wish to stay and play for the team, stating that he will share all player contracts. The society should also be prepared to pay the statutory subscriptions fees of the Botswana Football Association (BFA) and the Botswana Football League (BFL), the society will have to liaise with UMBRO if they want to continue with it. Sha stated that he will engage with Stanbic Bank to continue sponsoring the team.
Township Rollers Public Relations Officer, Bafana Pheto confirmed that they are still engaging and consulting their members, and nothing has been concluded yet. Meanwhile, when the board was having their emergency meeting over the weekend, the team was distracted by its participation on team building exercise, beach volley ball and braai at Molapo Crossing Mall.