Dolphins and Splinters have been suspended from the basketball league for failing to honour three consecutive fixtures.
The troubled league is running without a sponsor. A number of clubs have failed to honour fixtures, hence the Botswana Basketball Association (BBA) league committee has decided to set an example by suspending Dolphins and Splinters.
The committee chairman, Kabo Khama said the two clubs will remain suspended until the end of the season. He said they failed to give reasons for their failure to honour games.
He stated that this was a disturbing trend and the league committee was left with no option but to slap the teams with a ban. "A team like Dolphins has never shown up, even for a single game while Splinters started off well but seemed to lack motivation," he said.
Khama however clarified that the two clubs are still members of the BBA and will be allowed to participate in the league next season.
He told clubs to stop taking fixtures for granted because this dents the league's image.
Despite the absence of a sponsor, Khama said the level of competition has exceeded expectation. He stated that clubs in Francistown, Gaborone and Selebi-Phikwe face transport problems and this led to some of them failing to fulfil fixtures.
He said BBA has sorted out the problem of shortage of match officials. Meanwhile, the women's league, which started two months late, will conclude this weekend.
Khama said the league could not start on time because of a shortage of clubs. He said most clubs disbanded after last year's tournament. There are only four women clubs in the league - Relics, BDF V, Police and NIIT. Khama said because the league started late, the BBA decided to play only a single round of matches. BDF V are top of the table followed by Police while Relics are third and NIIT are last. Khama said the BBA hopes to see an increase in the number of women clubs next season.