23 May 2022

Gaborone United’s 202122 Premier League triumph is a memorable one as it brings an end to 13 years of title drought.

Thero Setsile’s 13th-minute strike against Jwaneng Galaxy on Thursday last week was good enough to hand Moyagoleele the championship and dethrone the defending champions, Galaxy.

GU’s eminence is undauntedly admired by the masses at the moment, but the journey to success dates back to 2008/2009 when the then management privatised the club and business tycoon, Nicholas Zakhem acquired 51 per cent shares valued at P1.5 million.

The shares made Zakhem the majority shareholder while the remaining 49 per cent was allocated to supporters.

Given the team’s dominance in yesteryears, which ultimately earned them the name: The Money Machine, one would say the club’s standards had slipped looking at their title drought which can be considered to be an unimaginably long time for a club of GU’s stature.

This takes into consideration the position of the team in the late 1990s during the heydays of Chandy Moruti, Patrick Zibochwa and Marco Chuma to name a  few.

However, Zakhem’s acquisition had an instant impact on the field luring quality players in the likes of Sageby Sandaka and Ronald Chikomo who formed a devastating striking partnership with the assistance of Tshepo Molefhe under the tutelage of Zambian coach Manfred Chabinga.

Chabinga handed GU the league title during that season and automatically qualified them for the CAF Champions League for the first time in the clubs’ history, with the CAF fixture pitting them against South African giants, Orlando Pirates.

GU conversely rose to the occasion and stunned Pirates with two dramatic late goals by Stephen Maphosa to proceed to the next round of the CAF championships by playing to a two-all draw at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium following a goalless draw in Gaborone.

“It is evident that the investments are now starting to yield positive results.

This clearly shows that one needs to play well and focus in order to attain positive results,” said GU chairperson Boitumelo Keikitse in an interview on the club’s social media platform.

Keikitse said the club’s ambition was to commercialise and transform into a professional outfit.

The 2021-22 season nonetheless is a testament to the Bosele Declaration which called for, among other things, commercialisation of football.

Perhaps it was with no surprise that GU were crowned the champions considering its array of star players.

 The team went on a recruitment drive to assemble the creme-de-la-creme local football can offer, adding the likes of Thero Setsile, Lesego Galenamotlhale and Onkabetse Makgathai to their arsenal.

Consistency has been the dominant factor in the GU campaign this season.

The team finished first round of the league with only one defeat having fallen to the sword of BDF XI with a 2-1 scoreline.

By February, GU title hopes were hanging by a thread after losing by a solitary goal to city rivals Township Rollers in a game that saw their log lead cut only to one point.

The flair and fizz that not so long ago set them apart from the rest had gone and the derby victory somehow busted Rollers’ confidence to fight for the championship to the bitter end.

Back in mid-March, GU’s title challenge further suffered a major blow and the two-horse race was poised to go down the wire as both contenders dropped points in their week 23 fixtures.

Both front runners, GU and Township Rollers failed to collect maximum points over that weekend.

This was really the only way a title race of such an unprecedented quality and relentlessness could rightfully be settled, by going right to the end with a gloriously rare final day that could decide it all.

GU had to come from behind to at least secure a point during their one-all draw with Security System while second-placed Township Rollers were held to a goalless draw by Orapa United.

Week 23 results left GU still at the summit of the log standings with 54 points after 22 games with Rollers hot on their heels.

Both teams were yet to bear any real sign of weakness in their campaign, but GU had to constantly look over their shoulder and hope for some inconsistency in the Rollers camp, who at the same time seemed to be finding their rhyme after starting the league on a low note.

“It has been a marathon from the first game till the Galaxy win, but it is worth noting that as the league reached its final stanza.

Our squad depth came into play, and we started to rotate and reconstruct the team, we had success in the past and we had to come back on our positional play, move the ball quicker, do more passes, stay more in position and run less with the ball,” said GU coach Innocent Morapedi. ENDS