BPL Member Clubs in pre-season mood
The month of July means many things to different walks of life. In football terms, the seventh month of the year implies that preseason football is back rolling again.
The world over, big guns are in a preparatory mood to try and oil their squads ahead of the next football calendar. It is also the case locally.
Botswana Premier League clubs are not to be left behind, all gearing up for a season that promises to send delight and ecstasy to thousand of football lovers across the breath and width of the country.
Gaborone United, the champions of the Orange FA cup, have crossed the boarder to honor the appointment of South African giants, Mamelodi Sundowns and Supersport United. The two South African hulks who all hail from Pretoria are expected to give the local club the needed competitive edge ahead of the coming season. Gaborone United will be back to continental football mid-August and the need to prepare extensively can never have come at a time than this one. While they have lost a couple of big names, they are expecting to announce equally good signings along the way. In fact, they start the preparations while assessing former Security Systems deadly forward Poloko Nkalolang.
On the other hand, Township Rollers, a club that boost of many followers across the country cannot wait to meet with their cross-border mates in Kaizer Chiefs. The friendly match that is expected to be played on July 29th in Gaborone celebrates the relationship between the two clubs that has stood for many years uninterrupted.
Rollers are on the route back to revival after spending a handful of seasons in the shadows of their rivals Gaborone United. In many ways than one, the same can be said about Kaizer Motaung’s gigantic club in PSL games.
Rollers are happy to have organized this game after announcing a handful of signings whom they are eager to see them kicking the Rollers ball. The team has recruited what others believe to be marquee signings in the likes of Tshepo Matete and Thabo Rakgale of Orlando Pirates fame. There is Omphile Vissage, a deep lying midfielder who kicked Extension Gunners ball on the two previous seasons with aplomb and sheer determination.
The month of August won’t be spared for these fever pitch preparations. In Orapa, a town that produces diamonds for the country will play host to five of the premier league teams to form a tournament that is expected to kick start on the 11th and come to an end on the 13th. The Orapa United tournament will feature all premier league teams who are based in the north of the country. These are; Eleven Angels who looks ahead for their second season in the elite league, Premier League rookies, TAFIC, Sua Flamingoes who have snatched Masitaoka FC coach Mandla Mpofu, Nico United from Selibe Phikwe together with Morupule Wanderers.
However, the northern affair tournament, although expected to produce glitz and glamour atmosphere, will not go ahead before the soccer fiesta festival take off at Jwaneng, another town that produces one of the biggest diamond -by value- for the country.
Jwaneng Galaxy who are the reigning champions of the 2022-23 season are looking forward to their second participation in in the CAF Champions league. Having gone all the way to the group stages of the competition three seasons ago, the mind and experience of their award-winning coach in Morena Ramoreboli will again come in handy. Between the 4-6 of August, a tournament will be hosted as attempt to try combinations with new signings are given first priority. Bantu FC from Lesotho, Highlanders from Zimbabwe are the two clubs expected to partner with Galaxy to play a pre-season tournament while the fourth unnamed team is yet to confirm its availability. It is indeed games galore across the country.
