Jamali to join Rollers

  • Jagdish & Jamal join forces to build ‘Rollers City’ which is set to cost more than P1.5billion
  • Rollers could be playing at their own venue next season

LETLHOGILE MPUANG

Business tycoon and former Mochudi Centre Chiefs investors  the Jamali family have become the latest to be associated with high flying BTC Premiership outfit Township Rollers in an ambitious plan to turn the side into the greatest football team in the country’s footballing history. This publication can reveal.
According to information relayed to this publication by highly placed sources, Rollers have embarked on an ambitious plan to erect a state of the art facility in Tloweng (Rollers’ current training grounds) that will encompass various services such as a hotel, conference venue, residential houses, shopping mall  gym and a sports complex.
This is said to have been proposed by the owners of the venue (Jamali family) and was gladly welcomed by Rollers President Jagdish Shah. “The Jamalis are losing interest in BDF XI and have been impressed with the way Rollers have progressed and their ambitions. They like the direction in which the club is going and have asked to join in making the club even greater,” the source told this publication.
“Jagdish is more than welcome to work with them. Construction is already underway and is expected to be done in the next five months,” he added. Gazette Sport has been made to understand that the construction of the facility is expected to cost well over P1.5 billion.
“The bulk of the work has been done, and they have spent around P1.5billion, but we expect it to go beyond that. The sports complex will accommodate 8000 spectators, and will be covered all round, the Botswana Football Association (BFA) will soon be invited to inspect the stadia for approval to host football matches,” explained the Gazette Sport source.
“The area also has two pitches, one within the sport complex and the other just outside, which will be the Rollers training ground. To add to that, the venue also comes with accommodation, and already some Rollers players  have moved in,” he further divulged.
The facility is also expected to include a Choppies Supermarket, to be opened in three months , a five star hotel that comes with a conference centre, and will be able to accommodate 6000 people. Reached for comment at the time of going to press, Rollers President Shah’s mobile line was unavailable. Meanwhile, this publication has been informed that the Jamali family could soon be pulling out at BDF XI.
The tycoon family were announced as the new sponsors of the club last year in an event attended by the former President Ian Khama at the state house. “The Jamalis want a club that has bigger ambitious, big plans of winning leagues and cups as well as conquering Africa, like what Rollers is doing, that is why they went and brought  an experienced foreign coach (Anderson Phiri) when they arrived at the club. In  short they want a winning and ambitious club, and they seem not be getting that with BDF XI,” said another source.