Botswana’s champions, Gaborone United, find themselves in a venue dilemma ahead of the CAF Champions League date following revelations that the Botswana National Stadium is double booked for the weekend.
Gaborone United host Congolese giants AS Vita in the Botswana capital in the preliminary round of the CAF Champions League, but the venue they will use is also booked for a religious event.
The fixture is scheduled for Sunday at 6pm, whereas the Everlasting Light of Hope Ministries crusade dubbed ‘Botswana For Christ With Wiseman Daniel’ runs until late on Saturday.
The development means the visiting team will not get to have a feel of the venue ahead of the encounter.
Gaborone United director Nicholas Zakhem is adamant that the team’s CAF Champions League tie will proceed as planned.
The Reds will be only availed on the morning of their game against AS Vita, but Zakhem said the club will not seek an alternative.
“Where I come from, stadiums are made for sports, not for a church gathering. I respect every religion and everybody, but Stadiums are called sports facilities, never been called church facilities.
“The second thing is when we were going on CAF [Champions League] assignment; you would not know your position until the end of the season that you will be playing CAF.
“You would not know who will be playing against, at what date and time, so it is very difficult to go and say to the sports commission we are playing on that particular day so assist us,” Zakhem said.
Nigerian preacher, Wiseman Daniel, whose real names are Daniel Emelandu Udochukwu, has arrived in the diamond-rich country for the two-day event.
Meanwhile, Gaborone United insist they will not move the game from the capital with their “supporters in mind”.
“Unfortunately, I am telling you [that the stadium] was booked for that religious festival. Now, as football people, what do we do? We are a team that is based in Gaborone. We play our home games in Gaborone. We will not play in South Africa, Lesotho, Jwaneng, Orapa or Francistown with due respect. Zebras are a national team so they can play anywhere.
“But we are a Gaborone-based team, and if we move to another city, we will deny our supporters a chance to watch our game.
“It was a bit of a misunderstanding and confusion, but I can assure you that we are playing on Sunday at 6 pm against AS Vita from DRC,” Zakhem said. AS Vita are expected in Gaborone on Friday, and Gaborone United’s brand and marketing manager, Herbert Letsebe, said the club is seeking an alternative venue for the visiting team’s training sessions with approval from CAF.
