GABORONE, Botswana, February 22, 2021/ — The Botswana Football Association (BFA) will this week host the Club Licensing Support Mission from the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Visiting the Botswana FA is CAF Club Licensing Senior Manager, Muhammad Sidat accompanied by Kabelo Bosilong – a CAF Club Licensing Instructor from South Africa.
The duo arrived in Botswana yesterday (Sunday, February 21st – February 25th) for a four-day Club Licensing Support Mission, which will involve meeting and having talks with the BFA President, Maclean Letshwiti, the National Executive Committee, Acting CEO, Club Licensing Manager and Committee on day one (Monday).
On day two (Tuesday), Sidat and Bosilong are expected to have a working session with Premier League Clubs and other stakeholders, including a Club Licensing General Session with the media, while day three (Wednesday) will see the duo visiting the national stadium for inspection.
The visit by CAF’s Club Licensing Unit offers a glimmer of hope to BFA’s efforts of wanting to turn the elite local league and other domestic football competitions into commercial and professional setups as required by CAF.
Sidat commended the BFA for its readiness surrounding the club licensing project, which he said was characterised by their constant calls to CAF in wanting to further understand the regulations and conditions of the project.
“The BFA has requested a support mission to better understanding the implementation and process of club licensing. It is also part of the CAF club licensing unit to provide support to member associations struggling with regulation and proper control of the mechanisms as it is mandatory for all clubs in Africa. This shows the commitment of the BFA in understanding the regulations of club licensing and the effect that it can have in the league and national competitions. As CAF, we are ready to help as Botswana is amongst the frontrunners,” said Sidat.
Furthermore, Sidat added that, “CAF has approved several new regulations at CAF level, on club licensing online and the BFA is a frontrunner. We are hopeful that the BFA will keep improving and as CAF we will continue to assist from time to time,” said Sidat.
For his part, the BFA President, Maclean Letshwiti said club licensing is very important simply because it speaks to the very heart of professionalism and commercialization of football.
“We’ve actually invited the CAF Club Licensing Manager, just to come and review the processes of club licensing in Botswana. The regulations, the processes, the new changes in club licensing that have been instituted at CAF. The adoption of that, which actually means the updating of the rules and regulations. So really, it’s a health check and support to the BFA to ensure that we adhere to the principles of club licensing in Botswana,” said the Botswana FA President.
