- BPL prioritizing increased grants over prize money improvement
- CEO post to be advertised
BONGANI MALUNGA
The Botswana Premier League has made progress in their bid to retain sponsorship deals with Mascom and BTC. Both contracts expired at the end of the season and the BPL has already made contact with the major sponsors with the aim of renewing ties.
BPL Acting Chief Executive Officer Thabo ‘Styles’ Ntshinogang told members of the BPL board as well as all league clubs that they are optimistic of renewing both deals. He revealed that they have reached “a certain stage of negotiations with Mascom”, indicating that significant progress has been made in discussions with the mobile giant.
“We have already begun sponsorship talks with Mascom. At this point in time we have reached a certain stage in our negotiations. I will not divulge further details because members of the media are present,” Ntshinogang stated last week.
Mascom and the BPL have always had a relationship for the past six years but the relationship hit a minor turbulence earlier this season after reports surfaced revealing that the mobile giant was unhappy with the e-ticketing model which Mascom reportedly felt the system contributed to lower attendances.
They were irked by the system’s printing of black and white tickets which they felt did not make their brand colours as visible as they should have been. Mascom even filed an official complaint and recommended the return of the old model as opposed to e-ticketing.
However, it appears both parties are past the matter as they have “mutual interest” in renewing the deal for a further three years. Ntshinigang also added that they held preliminary talks with the league sponsor, BTC, and they agreed to halt negotiations until the completion of the BTC Premiership Awards which took place this past Friday.
Another round of talks is expected to resume immediately. The BPL has publicly stated its intention to improve on their monthly grant mishaps, they are keen to prioritize an increase in monthly grants for league clubs ahead of an improvement on prize money during their negotiations with BTC.
Meanwhile the BPL will also advertise the CEO post in a bid to find a permanent successor for Bennett Mamelodi. It remains to be seen if Ntshinogang, who has been at the helm on a temporary basis, is interested in applying for the post. The acting CEO has a wealth of experience in football administration having also served at Botswana Football Association level.