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The Botswana First Division North (currently known as the Debswana First Division North due to sponsorship reasons) is the second-tier professional football league in Botswana. Founded in 1966 after Botswana was granted independence, it is administered by the
Botswana Football Association The Botswana Football Association (BFA) is the governing body of association football in Botswana, and controls the national football team. It is an affiliate of FIFA, CAF and the COSAFA. National football leagues include the beMOBILE Premi ...
and features teams from the northern part of the country. Inaugural participants in the league included
Eleven Angels Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''E ...
from Francistown.


History

The league was founded in 1966 as an attempt by the BFA to stimulate grassroots football development and evenly spread the sport across the country. Although First Division teams are directly promoted to the top tier of Botswana football and also participate in the FA Challenge Cup, the winner of which qualifies to compete in the
CAF Confederation Cup The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football club competition established in 2004 from a merger of the CAF Cup and the African Cup Winners' Cup and org ...
, an African continental competition equivalent to the
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
, critics have claimed the league is not taken seriously enough. Cited as an example is the fact that the First Division North did not get a sponsor until 2013, 45 years into its existence, and lacks proper stadia unlike other second-tier leagues like South Africa's
National First Division The National First Division (NFD), officially known as the Motsepe Foundation Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest league of South African club football after the South African Premier Division. Both the NFD and South Afric ...
. In 2014 the league was rocked by a clash between BFA and the government over the issue of constituency tournaments. Constituency tournaments were introduced by the government in 2008 to combat social ills through sport. The BFA appealed to the government to terminate the tournaments as many First Division players were deserting their clubs to take part in the tournaments for a quick and slightly higher payout, violating BFA regulations. BFA also had a problem with the tournament being under government control and not their own as the Botswana football governing body. However, the government refused as constituency tournaments were seen as amateur competitions and not professional, and BFA appealed to FIFA to resolve the issue. After sending a delegation to Botswana on a fact-finding mission FIFA ruled that the administration of constituency tournaments be handed over to the BFA and threatened to ban Botswana if this was not done. Following months of discussions the constituency tournament format and rules were amended to meet FIFA standards and it was agreed that BFA would have a say in its running.


Sponsorship

Since its inception in 1966 the First Division North has had only one sponsor. The sponsor has been able to determine the league's sponsorship name. Below is a list of all the sponsors to date: * 2013–present:
Debswana Debswana Diamond Company Limited, or simply Debswana, is a mining company located in Botswana, and is the world's leading producer of diamonds by value. Debswana operates four diamond mines in the eastern and central parts of Botswana, as well ...
(Debswana First Division North)


TV rights

On 27 June 2018 BFA signed a deal with Baboneng Film Productions to broadcast live First Division games, making Baboneng the first ever private company to broadcast First Division games. The groundbreaking deal was for P9 000 000 over five years commencing from the 2018-19 season and concluding in 2022-23. Baboneng agreed to pay P1 500 000 per season for the first two seasons and P2 000 000 per season afterwards. Any games that are not covered by Baboneng's MARU TV are to be broadcast by the state-owned youth channel NOW TV.https://botswanapremierleague.com/news/752866/Maru-TV-to-broadcast-Debswana-First-Division-matches


Format

There are 12 teams in the First Division North. Matches are played in a double round robin format, meaning every team plays every other team twice in a season both home and away. Three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. At the end of the season the team with most points is crowned champions and gains automatic promotion to the
Botswana Premier League The Botswana Premier League, currently known as the BTC Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level football league in Botswana. Organised by the Botswana Football Association, the league was formed in 1978 to replace the pre-inde ...
whereas the runners up go into the First Division promotional playoffs with the runners up of the First Division South. The team with the lowest points is relegated to the Division One league of their respective regional FA but the number of teams relegated depends on the number of northern teams relegated from the premier league. If only one northern team is relegated from the premier league then three teams are relegated from the First Division North to make space for both the relegated team and the two promoted from Division One. Where there is a tie of points goal difference is used to separate teams and determine log standings. First Division North games are generally played on weekend afternoons. Since the northern parts of Botswana generally lack proper stadium facilities as compared to the south and there are therefore next to no stadiums set aside for lower league use, First Division matches are played on dusty school grounds and other community spaces, resulting in the First Division being nicknamed 'ko leroleng' or 'at the dust'.


FA Challenge Cup

The top eight teams in the First Division North automatically qualify to play in the FA Challenge Cup. Although no First Division North team has ever won the competition, they see it as an opportunity to market their players and attract attention through shocking 'giant-killing' victories over premier league teams.


Clubs

List of teams in the 2018-19 FDN: * TAFIC (Francistown) * Morupule Wanderers (Palapye) * Sua Flamingos (Sua) *
Eleven Angels Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''E ...
(Francistown) *
Nico United Nico United are an association football club based in Selebi-Phikwe, Botswana. Their name of "Nico", which has been the target of jokes and Internet memes since Love Live! School Idol Project gained popularity, actually comes from the copper a ...
(Selibe Phikwe) * Motlakase Power Dynamos (Palapye) *
Calendar Stars A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a ph ...
(Francistown) * Francistown City Greens (Francistown) * Green Lovers (Serowe) * Great North Tigers (Francistown) *
Palapye All-Stars Palapye is a growing town in Botswana, situated about halfway between Francistown and Gaborone ( from Francistown and from Gaborone). Over the years its position has made it a convenient stopover on one of Southern Africa's principal north–s ...
(Palapye) * Real Movers (Selibe Phikwe)


Past seasons


Manager records


References

{{Reflist Football leagues in Botswana