Premier League giants Township Rollers are expected to endorse its financier Jagdish Shah as the president of the club after Dickson Gabanakgosi informed his colleagues in the committee that he was vacating the position. 

Gabanakgosi’s resignation is considered a tactical move to appoint Jagdish Shah as president.

According to our source, the move by Rollers is designed to end the conflict between some concerned members and its financier. There are some supporters who have questioned the role of Shah in the team and the matter has since been a source of legal battles between those aligned to the financier and those who are against the adopted commercialisation model.

Gabanakgosi confirmed his move in a brief interview with the Sunday Standard. “I have relinquished my position as the president of the club,” he said. He said it was for others to take the team forward and acquire land for the team.

In an interview Shah said he had heard the suggestion from team’s supporters. “I heard about that idea from the supporters. It will be a good move because it will give me a status in the team if it does so happen,” said Shah. He said in the current set-up he could not represent the team in any forum because the structure did not recognise him despite the fact that he was pouring out money on the activities if the team.

“I don’t have any designation in the team and if the idea sees the light of day it will be a positive move both for me and the club,” he observed.

He further pointed out that in the current set-up whenever he wanted to represent the team he was barred because he did not have any portfolio. He says his days of frustration will be over because the system will now recognize him. The coming of Shah has seen the team set the pace for other Premier League teams in terms of better conditions for its players and the way they do things. Rollers players are better paid compared to other teams and their incentives are also above the rest. Contacted for comment Rollers’ PRO Bafana Pheto said: “I cannot talk about that; we are having a special general meeting on September 17 at Marang Junior Secondary School where club supporters will get an update on their team’s progress.”  He said the committee was assigned a few tasks as a way of moving the team forward. “We have managed to achieve many of the tasks we were given. They include the amendment of the constitution and to commercialise the team,” explained Pheto.

He said the meeting is only for Rollers card-carrying members.  “Supporters are expected to air their views on areas they think need attention so that the dream of becoming more professional is achieved,” explained Pheto.