WHY IS BOTSWANA FOOTBALL CONTRACT FEES A SECRET?
BY: Tirelo Mosielele
Why are contractual fees a secret in Botswana football? This may seem far-fetched but contracts in Botswana are a topic that needs full intervention from all stakeholders involved in our football; footballers agents, team managers, and the Football Association.
TALKING POINTS
- Tranfer fees make football more exciting for fans
- It is the art of PR and marketing of the beautiful game
Although contractual agreements are between two parties being a player and teams at hand, as a growing football nation these are areas of interest that need to be brushed if we ever wish to be professional. Football is not only played in the park, there is a lot at stake in this business, just recently international transfer window came to a close and it is the second most interesting part to when your team lifts a trophy as a sportsperson.
Let us share the benefits of taking care of these small details to perfect our football. As I hinted earlier about the just ended international transfer window for the upcoming 2021/22 season, everyone was glued to their phone screens in the last hours of the window eager to see if their team has scooped any interesting player, this alone builds hype for the season and gives the fans something to look out for. The most interesting part is when a war between PSG and Real Madrid where there was a tussle to secure French wunderkind Kylian Mbappe in what could have been the second-biggest transfer of at least €200 million.
The interesting part was where PSG had to continuously increase the value of Mbappe which is something we want to see in our local football, fans want to rant to each other on social media and on corridors that their team has the largest spending during the transfer window.
CONTRACT MATTERS WILL PROMOTE BRAND OF BOTSWANA FOOTBALL
Another point to look at is that this activity could be highly used to promote the brand of our league, look at the Chinese Super League and the Middle East football since they took a strategy to flex with their money to grow their football it has been going well for them and top players are switching to play there like Oscar, Hulk, Fellaini, and others.
Years back, Gareth Bale was offered a multi-million dollar contract detailing how much he will be earning there, the material did not materialize but the league was trending and well marketed in that period.
Our players could benefit from this fit because in most cases clubs are interested and keen on players who have a higher market than those with less or none, they will be curious about why is this player worth this much and go for him. But right now we put all our faith in agents to take our players abroad although there are little to no players with agents in our country.
Take Segolame Boy for instance, with the right tools he could have been our greatest export in recent years but with a lack of proper marketing in our local football and lack of management on his side, his beautiful talent is wasted. We could be experiencing a Mbappe situation where Rollers will be fighting with other big clubs by putting a mega price tag on his name causing a stir in the media and the public getting engaged and hyped up for the season.
There are a lot of benefits in practicing this element in our football and more especially that there are many good things it could do to a player like earlier alluded that it is good for their marketing and can also boost their self-confidence knowing that he is one of the most talked-about in the country.
All stakeholders involved should stand up and take care of these small details to take the game to a whole new level just like the Arabs, Chinese and Americans are doing to their sport.
