There are not terms of agreement reached after impasse between board and shareholders
Reports of an alleged agreement between the Botswana Football Association (BFA) and the Botswana Football League shareholder clubs have been refuted by BFA president, Maclean Letshwiti. He clarified that the only agreement in place is to continue playing matches while resolving other issues separately, and that no games will be paused.
Letshwiti denied that there was any agreement with the BFL shareholders regarding the number of teams to be relegated or the amount of money to be paid to the clubs. While he could not confirm or deny the specific details, he stated that negotiations were still on-going.
Speaking during a media briefing this week, Letshwiti stated that there are no terms and conditions for the BFL shareholders to return to play. He acknowledged that the association had listened to the shareholders' concerns and learned an important lesson from the misunderstanding, adding that 'football has won,' and the clubs have agreed to return to play while other issues are being resolved.
“We now understand that the clubs were not trying to be disruptive - they just wanted to be heard. We have heard them, and football is back. I want to assure all stakeholders and the people of Botswana that the leagues will resume this coming weekend, and we will make sure that this never happens again. While some issues remain unresolved, we will work to resolve them,” Letshwiti said.
He clarified that football was not returning because of any terms and conditions, but rather because the association had recognized the need for better communication in the future. He stated that the organization would work to avoid such misunderstandings from happening again.
“We still need to resolve the issue of how many teams will be relegated this season. We are waiting for the clubs to state their reasons, and then the BFA will make a decision. We will make a decision that is in the best interests of football in Botswana, and not based on what individual clubs want. We also understand that our clubs are struggling financially, so we will do our best to look into that,” He mentioned.
“This is the first time we've had to deal with a situation like this, other countries have faced similar challenges in the past, so we will review the situation and figure out what went wrong and who was responsible. We will reach a conclusion while the league games are on-going, but our top priority is to get the games played. We're happy to have reached an agreement with the clubs to resume the season,” he added.
Letshwiti denied that there was any agreement with the BFL shareholders regarding the number of teams to be relegated or the amount of money to be paid to the clubs. While he could not confirm or deny the specific details, he stated that negotiations were still on-going.
Speaking during a media briefing this week, Letshwiti stated that there are no terms and conditions for the BFL shareholders to return to play. He acknowledged that the association had listened to the shareholders' concerns and learned an important lesson from the misunderstanding, adding that 'football has won,' and the clubs have agreed to return to play while other issues are being resolved.
“We now understand that the clubs were not trying to be disruptive - they just wanted to be heard. We have heard them, and football is back. I want to assure all stakeholders and the people of Botswana that the leagues will resume this coming weekend, and we will make sure that this never happens again. While some issues remain unresolved, we will work to resolve them,” Letshwiti said.
He clarified that football was not returning because of any terms and conditions, but rather because the association had recognized the need for better communication in the future. He stated that the organization would work to avoid such misunderstandings from happening again.
“We still need to resolve the issue of how many teams will be relegated this season. We are waiting for the clubs to state their reasons, and then the BFA will make a decision. We will make a decision that is in the best interests of football in Botswana, and not based on what individual clubs want. We also understand that our clubs are struggling financially, so we will do our best to look into that,” He mentioned.
“This is the first time we've had to deal with a situation like this, other countries have faced similar challenges in the past, so we will review the situation and figure out what went wrong and who was responsible. We will reach a conclusion while the league games are on-going, but our top priority is to get the games played. We're happy to have reached an agreement with the clubs to resume the season,” he added.
