- Bright unhappy as players were whisked away to sign for Chippa United without his permission
- Agent and GU official maintains that Bright knew well in advance
BONGANI MALUNGA
Accredited agent and Gaborone United general manager Olebile Sikwane has dismissed suggestions that they whisked Thatayaone Kgamanyane and Kabelo Seakanyeng away to sign for South African club Chippa United while on national duty without seeking the national team’s permission.
Seakanyeng and Kgamanyane were in the midst of the 2018 COSAFA Cup when their transfer to Chippa United were announced and this reportedly irked coach Major David Bright. Chippa’s management and their recruitment team was impressed by the players’ performances in the tournament. The club has also been in talks with GU about Kgamanyane since March, they took advantage of his availability in South Africa to finalize the deal.
The players’ transfers were announced on Saturday as pictures of the duo donning the Chippa United kit circulated on social media. Bright was said to have been unhappy with the manner in which the deals happened as he stated that they were taken from camp without his permission or consent.
Sikwane informed this publication that he had told the coach in advance that the players were the subject of interest from Chippa and that the transfers were in the pipeline, he also stated that there were other parties who tried to take advantage of the deal.
“I had been talking to Major Bright way before I went to South Africa and I kept him abreast of developments but we changed our modus operandi when we found out that the future of the boys was now in the hands of other people. I owe a fiduciary duty to these boys so I acted accordingly. If BFA is not happy they will charge me. We informed Bright out of courtesy not out of requirement,” Sikwane stated.
Reached for comment, Botswana Football Association Public Relations Officer Tumo Mpatane stated that the coach has not mentioned anything related to the players’ transfers yet. “We have not yet communicated with the coach about it. As soon as he informs us of anything he did not like we will then be in a position to make an informed comment. It is a professional courtesy to inform the team manager and seek permission first, but we have not yet been told of any incident. We are happy for our players to be transferred but it should be done in the right manner and we do hope that it was done correctly,” said Mpatane.