10 May 2022

Talk of Tafic heading to oblivion abounds as one of Botswana’s big football teams teeters on the dangerous edges of First Division North (FDN) league log.

If such a misfortune befalls the red and white of Leseding Ground, Tafic would be adding a chapter in the book that recounts a sad history of Francistown football.

Already, the once dreaded ECCO City Greens, now Francistown City Greens, are contesting under Francistown Regional Football Association (FRAFA) after falling from grace: relegating from Premier League and FDN.

At the dusty pitches of the FRAFA, the former Mascom Premier League winners Francistown City Greens find solace in the presence of former Coca Cola Cup winning TASC Confidence and another former Premier league side Great North Tigers (GNT).

All these once popular names are hardly mentioned in the media as they used to be.

Soon they will be forgotten names if they do not plot a return to top flight football or even FDN.

As of May 9, GNT are perched on the second spot of the FRAFA Division One log while City Greens and TASC are on position five and six respectively.

Although the fate of the above-mentioned Francistown teams came at different stages, it appears they may be joined by their senior brother Tafic if the latter do not pull a sharp rise from their current anchored shore.

As of Monday, Tafic are languishing on spot 11 of the 12 team tier.

This is a team that still seethes with anger and pain over their relegation to the FDN owing to a BFA decision to stop the leagues and declare champions on leaders while those on the relegation spots slid down to the lower divisions in the 2019/20 season owing to COVID-19 pandemic.

Unfortunately Tafic were on the 14th spot while Molepolole City and Miscellaneous occupied the spot 15 and 16 respectively. All the teams had played 20 games and remaining with 10.

Each game carries three points and therefore each team could bear claim to a possible 30 points. Three teams relegate from Premier League every season while another three join.

That as it may, Tafic are now struggling with staying afloat at a division a step lower than Premier League.

They find themselves teetering on unstable ground, but having to shoot up nonetheless.

Matjimenyenga, an affectionate moniker for Tafic, have collected just 15 points from 17 games.

They are 26 points shy of leaders Nico United and five points behind 10th placed Green Lovers. Tafic lead bottom placed Maun United Terrors by five points.

Whatever happened to the side revered for their ‘undipe ndi kupe’ style of football requires of the team’s management to put heads together and hatch an escape plan from the beckoning FRAFA Division One league.

One would have expected the newly relegated Tafic to ‘boss up’ the FDN teams and return to Premier League immediately.

A worst scenario could have been for the team to hide in the mid table, but the Matjimenyenga boys are burning in the red zone.

The scary situation has not bothered football lovers only, the team management is equally concerned according to chairman Forster Machola.

However, Machola conceded to some dire financial crisis within the team although players, owing to its big name, believe Tafic have a strong financial muscle.

The belief has gotten players demanding better financial packages against what they earned at other teams.

In fact, Machola says the players could play for free at other teams and demand a salary at Tafic due to the big brand that it is.

Moreover, players reportedly demand better camping facilities even when playing home in Francistown. Away, Machola revealed that the team’s budget would be at P18 000, a sum that drained their coffers.

When the return to play was declared 90 per cent of the players in TAFIC books did not return to the book let alone to action. Some, he said, realized that playing football was a waste of time.

Worse, the team started preseason two weeks before the start of the FDN league.

“Due to the state of emergency and Covid-19 protocols some players discovered new hobbies and honed their talents in other fields and thereby dumping the team and forcing us to start afresh,” Machola responded on why they were failing to stamp authority in a junior league.

Despite the problems devilling the Ghetto (Francistown sobriquet) side, the team management is reportedly at work to ensure a safe position for the revered team.

“We believe we will survive. We will put our house in order and see how far we would go,” Machola said and revealed that they were taking players through counselling sessions and splashing some incentives as winning bonuses for every game. ENDS