- BPL deflects Chiefs-TAFIC saga to BFA
- TAFIC question Chiefs’ affiliation, looking to be reinstated at the expense of Chiefs
- Chiefs claim that they were not informed on this complaint
BONGANI MALUNGA
Recently relegated Francistown club TAFIC have written a formal request to the Botswana Premier League (BPL) to relegate former BTC Premiership champions Mochudi Centre Chiefs from the league and reinstate them. TAFIC, through a letter written through their legal representatives, questioned the legitimacy of Chiefs’ affiliation and membership subscription to the Kgatleng Regional Football Association whose chairman is Chiefs manager Clifford Mogomotsi.
The Francistown outfit was relegated from the league last month, they have raised a concern and a complaint that Chiefs’ participation in the 2017-2018 BTC Premiership season was illegal and have recommended their removal from the league, to make way for their return.
“In terms of the constitution Mochudi Centre Chiefs Sporting Club is supposed to have duly affiliated to the regional body which would in turn affiliate to BFA. However, in this instance it is not the sporting club that paid but rather a completely separate entity being its trust. For ease of reference we attach herein two invoices being proof of payment on the 28th of May 2017 and 30 May 2017 respectively. It is evident from the two that the trust paid the affiliation fees,” TAFIC stated through their legal representatives presented to the BPL.
The letter further stated that, “It is matter of fact that the sporting club has not and did not affiliate. It is also triate in law that a society and a trust are two completely separate entities. It is only proper and in fact compulsory that your office take cognisance of the above and duly strike out Mochudi Centre Chiefs’ participation in the 2017/2018 league season. The effect of this would be that our clients are returned to the premier league and will be a valid participant in the 2018/2019 season.”
In response the BPL tossed the case away and forwarded it to the Botswana Football Association. “We do not deal with regional matters, we are not privy to any transactions or payments made at regional level, for this reason we have forwarded the matter to BFA,” BPL Chief Executive Officer Thabo ‘Styles’ Ntshinogang told Gazette Sport in a brief interview on Sunday.
For their part, Mochudi Centre Chiefs have rubbished TAFIC’s claims and they also revealed that they were blind-sided by the move as they were not copied or even informed of the act until they saw the letter circulating on social media.
Chiefs manager Clifford Mogomotsi informed this publication that they finished that the process of changing from a trust to a society in 2017. He stated that they handed the club to a transitional committee before holding elections which determined the composition of the club’s current executive committee.
“They have an imaginary case, they didn’t even copy us in the letter, if you are making a complaint about another club then you should also make them aware of the process. We will cooperate with the BPL or the BFA because we have nothing to hide. We received a High Court order to the trust to cease to exist by 30 June 2017, and we duly obliged because post June 30 we were no longer a trust, as per the High Court order. In July 2017 we advised our region that we were now a society. In August we held elections which saw the formation of the current committee which comprises of Ernsest Molome (chairman), Raymond Tsheko (vice chair), Chris Molomo (president), myself as the manager, Rueben Lekorwe (secretary), Ridwell Moremi (treasurer) as well as Reginald Madisa and Pollen Makgabe as additional members. As far as we are concerned we did everything by the book and we registered as a society a long time ago, we believe TAFIC has no case,” Mogomotsi told this publication.