Smoke coming from Rollers boardroom
The country’s most successful and revered football institution, Township Rollers, could once more be on the hunt for a new investor, following reports that terms of agreement with the current investor, Jimmy Haskins Kereng are under review.
Gaborone giants brought in a businessman of repute, Director of Prestige Parlours Group, Kereng, to steady the ship at the club, following the unceremonious exit of former financier, Jagdish Nartwaal Shah at the beginning of the current season.
Mapalastina are currently flourishing in the Botswana Football League (BPL) but there has been several reports of late payments of players, something which according to close sources is the responsibility of Kereng.
Further details sufficing from the current set up is that Kereng was expected to take care of the ladies and junior teams, but following his financial struggles to sustain the senior team, the club’s executive board allowed him to only focus on the senior team.
This publication can confirm that some young players of the senior men’s team had not been paid their dues by Wednesday, while only senior players at the club were paid last week. Some senior players took management to task on Wednesday morning to resolve the issue, as the final push to challenge for the title gathers momentum.
“The club has a contract with him [Kereng], some conditions on the contract have not been fulfilled to this point and there has been conversations between him and the club executives to see how best to resolve the matter. I believe that once everything is done, a decision will be made on whether to continue with him or find other alternatives,” a source close to the club's operations revealed.
Respect for Kereng is still maintained by the club’s executives who have credited the team's title challenge in the current campaign to his name despite reported struggles.
“He also has admitted that it has been a challenging journey, he loves the club and he is open to the idea of bringing in other potential investors if there are others to help the team, which will now be a subject of agreeing on how the parties can share the stakes of the company that the team is registered under; options are open, nothing is finalized yet,” a source shared.
BG Sport also learned that plans to find another investor have already begun and there has been a trip to Limpopo, South Africa, where they met with a potential financier and the outcome of the trip has been described as ‘positive’.
Some members of the club have also been updated about the trip including some players, as the club looks to retain some of its top talents come end of the seasons; assurances are being made that glory days surely are about to return.
Reached to offer clarity on the reports, the Club Chairman, Phempheretlhe Bafana Pheto, refuted allegations of a possible exit of their current president at the end of the season. Rollers are a well-known brand, particularly in the southern part of the continent and it will not come as a surprise to see investment interest coming from abroad, in fact, Umbro South Africa have been the technical sponsors of the club for a while now.
“I am not aware of any reports suggesting that we are parting ways with Jimmy Kereng; we are still with him, if we were not happy with anything we would have engaged him to voice our grievances. He is taking care of the team and am not aware of players who haven’t been paid now. Our teams are flourishing and we are happy with the progress we have made so far. Reports suggesting we are looking for a possible investor are wide off the mark,” Pheto responded.
Rollers are two points adrift of log leaders, Jwaneng Galaxy and have played a game more with nine matches left to play. After playing back to back draws against Sua Flamengoes and Matebele FC, the Blues will be looking to return to winning ways when they take on the bottom of the table, Nico United in an Orange FA Cup round of 16 encounter on Saturday.