22 Jun 2023

Botswana Football League (BFL) has taken a decision to reduce the number of clubs participating in the domestic Premier League, BFL CEO Senzo Mbatha has announced. 

Speaking at a BFL media engagement in Gaborone Tuesday, Mr Mbatha said over the next two seasons, starting with the upcoming 2023-24 football campaign, four clubs would be relegated from the Premier League, with only two sides, the winners of the First Division North and South respectively, being promoted.

“The promotional playoff that takes place between the sides that finish second in the two first division leagues will be scrapped,” Mbatha said. 

These measures will ensure that the Premier League is reduced to 14 teams by the start of the 2024-25 season, and eventually settling to 12 teams starting with the 2025-26 campaign.

Mbatha further announced that BFL, which administers the country’s Premier League and First Division, had been admitted as a member of the World League Forum (WLF), a body of professional football leagues from across the world.

The domestic league is only the eighth on the continent, after South Africa, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Egypt to be a part of this elite group that advances the interests of professional leagues globally.

Mbatha also revealed that BFL was in negotiations with three corporate entities to come on board as sponsors or partners to the Premier League, and said they hoped to announce a new title sponsor for the elite league ahead of the new season.

He further said they were pleased the Premier League had ended timeously over the past season without pending protests, and said they sought to ensure more such smooth administration took place in the future.

Mbatha called on the media to work in a professional environment, saying his office would work to ensure statistics and other vital information was availed to the press ahead of matches, and that member clubs should also ensure press conferences take place to afford the media and public more information before and after games.

Football journalists urged the league authorities to provide them with better access to stadium facilities, particularly in category A league and cup matches, where there tends to be restricted access to the press, and for improved information dissemination from the BFL. Ends