- Rollers have been fined P680K by CAF
- We do not know what the charges are for – Shah
LETLHOGILE MPUANG
Township Rollers President Jagdish Shah says they are clueless about the basis of the P680 000 fine that has been imposed on the club by Confederation of African Football (CAF). He further says they are anticipating another ‘unexplained’ charge from CAF after the Esperance game.
When Rollers became the first ever local team to qualify for the group stages of the CAF Champions League earlier this year, much of the celebrations had to do with the USD 550 000 (around P5.5 million) that the club would be pocketing for getting into the group stages. The club has gone on to have a difficult ride on the field of play, which has seen them languish at the bottom of group A with only 3 points after five games, they have also been hit with a number of charges from CAF.
In May when they hosted Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA), CAF slapped Rollers with a US$40, 000 (approximately P400, 000) fine. It is reported that the charge was for Popa’s failure to secure a broadcast partner for the game. Another USD 28 000 (around P280 000) fine followed after the Al Ahly game, which has not been clarified.
Shah, in an interview with Gazette Sport, revealed his concerns about the two charges leveled against them and he is anticipating more charges.
“We do not know why we are being charged in the first place. We do not know of the agreement between BTV and CAF, as well as between BTV and the Botswana Football Association (BFA). We don’t know whether they will charge us or not for the Esperance game. We are probably going to be given another fine which we are not sure what it’s for,” Shah told this publication.
“What is worrying is the fact that we are not allowed to talk to CAF directly we deal with them through the BFA, and all these fines have been coming through the BFA. We don’t have any knowledge of what exactly the fines are for. What we understand is that the money will be deducted from the P5.5million that we are supposed to get for reaching the group stages,” he added.
“One thing we understand is that in the last game, we had guys from Supersport who came in to assist BTV with the production, but we were still fined. We are also aware that we will be having a few more guys from Superport coming again to work with BTV, so we are not sure if it will be an additional US$40, 000 or another USD 28 000,” concluded the Rollers President.
Rollers play Tunisian giants Esperance in their final group game today (Tuesday) in the evening at the National Stadium.