I have previously complained about the need for our clubs to move with the times. Their logos, mottos and websites remain parochial and archaic despite the speed at which football and global sports dynamics have moved and changed. I have criticized club logos and said they needed to be relooked at.
At the time, I singled out Extension Gunners logo and said it did not resonate with me as a young fan of the club. It does not lure any youth closer to the team. I had mentioned that while I understand the fact that clubs have a historical and sentimental attachment to their logos and the heritage they may display, it is time they made them relevant. For example, the Orlando Pirates logo of the 1990s has been redefined and the skeletons and bones are no longer scary. Millions like the star on the Pirates logo; it has come as a result of their champions’ league success of 1995. There has been a cosmetic change on the logo and the changes were brought up by the times we live in. Kaizer Chiefs logo of a king has also felt changes . All ambitious clubs across the world do look at their logos time and again. Locally, Township Rollers logo has also felt the necessary changes, it now looks good.
The club again seems to be the only one interested in a website. I do not know if this has to do with difficult demands of their myriad support base, but they remain the only local club with a good and proper website that shows that a lot of work and thought went into it. They deserve a massive applause and they should now also look at other social platforms like twitter to amass more followers.
Many clubs in Botswana have not bothered to consider creating websites. I have been informed that a websites costs less than P5000 to design and almost no significant amount to run. I know Centre Chiefs has a lot of supporters but times must compel the club to look further than just a Public Relations office to lure people to the club. That the 70 000 people of Mochudi will naturally come and support the club is an illusion of unprecedented proportions. The back to back winning of cups may also not be sufficient as they may have seen with Supersport United of South Africa. Marketing is a lifelong process which they need to do.
Some clubs have not bothered to look at websites or to even create and run them. Websites give club information to not only the fans and supporters but even possible investors within and outside Botswana. Foreign clubs are constantly looking for partnerships and training camps which give them pre season training and it is through such mechanisms that clubs get to be well known. TP Mazembe for example has a very good website. On this website, the whole world can see what Mazembe are all about. Man United and other top European sides are big because of websites.
If only Rollers sees the need and importance of having a website, then we run the risk of them owning 80% of local football membership and support if we allow them to lead in every aspect of the game. Our clubs should not operate in isolation, they must be ambitious and look outside and see how things are done. They should take their administrators to school; empower them with the latest developments in the game. I am unhappy with the way we do things generally as a football nation. However, we wait for others to lead but we don’t copy. We don’t learn. For example, the Premier League as the supreme office of all local clubs has failed to have a website of its own. Characteristically, the BFA also fails to have a living website. Theirs is moribund.
For local football news even those that do not concern Rollers, one has go to the Rollers website! I think both the leadership at Premier League must be ashamed of this because while they preach Bosele Declaration, they themselves do not adhere by those resolutions. We certainly need to do more.