{"id":7230,"date":"2022-05-19T11:32:15","date_gmt":"2022-05-19T11:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-return-of-nico-united-to-premier-league-sets-phikwe-alight"},"modified":"2022-05-19T13:59:39","modified_gmt":"2022-05-19T13:59:39","slug":"the-return-of-nico-united-to-premier-league-sets-phikwe-alight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-return-of-nico-united-to-premier-league-sets-phikwe-alight","title":{"rendered":"The return of Nico United to premier league sets Phikwe alight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>On the 14th of this month of May 2022, Nico United Sporting Club made its long-awaited promotion to the Botswana Premier League (BPL).<\/b><\/p>\n

A goalless draw away to Maun Terrors on the day, as well as second placed Eleven Angels\u2019 0 \u2013 1 slip away to Chadibe Football Club all but ensured Majombolo a safe passage back to the elite league.<\/p>\n

The promotion came exactly five years and a day since the team was relegated from the elite league. For the residents of Selebi-Phikwe, the team\u2019s return to the elite league was welcomed by song and dance.<\/p>\n

In fact, this past Sunday when the team affectionately known as Baby Jombies arrived in Phikwe from Maun, a motorcade was held to welcome it.<\/p>\n

Not without reason! For the once vivacious copper and nickel mining town fallen now almost turned Ghost town, the return of Nico United to the elite league means more than just football.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mood around Phikwe has been very high since Saturday,\u201d Nico United\u2019s public relations officer (PRO) Ntibi Kedikilwe says. \u201cThis means more for them,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Since the closure of the BCL mine, the town of Phikwe has been left desolate. Now, Majombolo\u2019s promotions back to the Premier League brings back some measure of hope for the residents of this former mining town.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all expect the return of Nico United to the Premier League to boost sports tourism in our town. the trickle effect of this will be felt in the town\u2019s hospitality industry as well as the small vendors,\u201d Kedikilwe opines.<\/p>\n

The Nico United PRO\u2019s optimism, and may be that of all the Phikwe residents, stems from the prospects of hosting high profile matches against Premier League teams which bring with them multitudes of supporters.<\/p>\n

And this, he says, is reflected in how residents and the town leadership have been supportive of the team. Where two or three seasons ago support was at a premium, the goodwill has been great for Nico this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the previous Covid-19 hit season when we finished second and other seasons prior, there was not much support for the team. This season however, the support has been massive,\u201d Kedikilwe reflects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have had a lot of goodwill from the residents. For the first time, the team merchandise has been selling very well. Even people who were not massive fans of football have pitched in to help whichever way they could,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

At the highest level, Kedikilwe says they have had well needed support from the Town council leadership. \u201cWhenever possible, the Town Council lent us some of its buses to ferry us to away matches. They have also allowed us to use the stadium for free,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Now while the champagne is flowing though, the team is aware there is a lot that needs to be done to get the team ready for the big league and ensure it can survive and thrive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to prepare now. We know that if we prepare well now, we will be able to cope with the rigours of the elite league,\u201d the Nico United PRO concludes.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Botswana<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. On the 14th of this month of May 2022, Nico United Sporting Club made its long-awaited promotion to the Botswana Premier League (BPL). A goalless draw away to Maun Terrors on the day, as well as second placed Eleven Angels\u2019 0 \u2013 1 slip away to Chadibe Football Club all but ensured […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":7229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,17,16],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-7230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-sport","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-botswana","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nThe return of Nico United to premier league sets Phikwe alight - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On the 14th of this month of May 2022, Nico United Sporting Club made its long-awaited promotion to the Botswana Prem ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-return-of-nico-united-to-premier-league-sets-phikwe-alight\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The return of Nico United to premier league sets Phikwe alight\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On the 14th of this month of May 2022, Nico United Sporting Club made its long-awaited promotion to the Botswana Prem ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-return-of-nico-united-to-premier-league-sets-phikwe-alight\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-19T11:32:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-05-19T13:59:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2022\/05\/img-62864d36e3037.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"696\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"464\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-return-of-nico-united-to-premier-league-sets-phikwe-alight#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-return-of-nico-united-to-premier-league-sets-phikwe-alight\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"The return of Nico United to premier league sets Phikwe alight\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-19T11:32:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-19T13:59:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-return-of-nico-united-to-premier-league-sets-phikwe-alight\"},\"wordCount\":542,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-return-of-nico-united-to-premier-league-sets-phikwe-alight#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2022\/05\/img-62864d36e3037.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Botswana\",\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"homepage-english\",\"sport\",\"twitter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-return-of-nico-united-to-premier-league-sets-phikwe-alight#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-return-of-nico-united-to-premier-league-sets-phikwe-alight\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-return-of-nico-united-to-premier-league-sets-phikwe-alight\",\"name\":\"The return of Nico United to premier league sets Phikwe alight - 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