The Chief Executive Officer of the Botswana Premier League (BPL), Solomon Ramachothwane, says Namibian players who have signed for Batswana teams are adding value to the game in that country.
Speaking to Nampa on Wednesday, Ramachothwane said the profile of Namibian players was raised by Jerome Louis and Benson Shilongo, who helped their clubs win championships and trophies in that league before.
“We have quite a number of Namibian players in our league now. The two players (Shilongo and Louis) really helped local clubs win championships. This belief has gone to the other clubs to make sure that they sign more Namibians in a bid to get that value,” he explained.
He explained that the Board of Directors of the Botswana Football League unanimously took a resolution to increase the number of foreigners from three to five with the aim of making the league competitive internationally and to also help the Batswana teams compete in international competitions.
“We have not only attracted players from Namibia. We have representation from West, East and Central Africa. Others are from Zambia, Malawi, and other Southern African countries,” he continued
He added that the league also offers attractive salaries, with 13 of the 16 clubs currently enjoying strong backing from the mines, government and business community in that country.
Ramachothwane’s comments come on the background of three Namibian players moving to Botswana in the just concluded transfer window.
Marcel Papama joined Wendell Rudath at Jwaneng Galaxy on a one-and-a-half-year deal, while Ivan Kamberipa and Aubrey Omseb each signed for Masitaoka on two-year deals. Another Namibian, Kennedy Amutenya, is at Gaborone United.
Meanwhile, interim Brave Warriors coach Bobby Samaria says this is a clear indication that players want to play football irrespective of the level.
“The local Chan team will surely be negatively affected by these departures but it surely opens up spots for other players. The performance of Wendell at Jwaneng definitely opened opportunities for players to look at Botswana’s elite league as an option and not only consider Zambia, South Africa and Ethiopia,” he said.
Local legal and sports consultant Olsen Kahiriri, says players moving to Botswana is a good move as Namibia currently does not have an active league.
“The disadvantage is that when our league starts, all the good players will have gone to other countries or retired, meaning our league standard will be below standards,” he said. Namibia now has a total of five players in the BPL, the biggest number ever to feature in that league.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
