Opinion| The Issue with Football Pitch In BetKing Ethiopian Premier League Must be Addressed Immediately

The BetKing Ethiopian Premier League has reached match day 17 but only one game took place during the last couple of days. The reason was the condition of the pitch at Diredawa Stadium ( putting the commonly used international tag wouldn’t be suitable here). Due to heavy rain the pitch has become unplayable and the games have started to look nothing like a football match.

In these conditions it’s clear that neither passing nor shooting is possible. The players will be covered in mud from head to toe and forced to spend more energy than necessary to try and play. Even worse playing under such circumstances can expose the players to injury.

The Premier League company decided on Monday to call off the rest of Match Day 17 fixtures. The league will resume in a different city after the international break following Ethiopian national team’s games against Guinea.

The decision to postpone the games looks like the right call but more should be done to insure quality of playing pitch is in keeping with the standard.

The national team has already been a victim of lack of a stadium that meets the standards set by CAF and as such being forced to play home games away from home ( the latest ‘home game’ will be held in Morocco). And now clubs are being burdened financially because of games not taking place as expected. Furthermore, the fact that the league games are supposed to be shown live on DSTV but aren’t is also another headache for the league company and clubs alike.

Issues with playing pitch should be addressed immediately. The financial repercussions it can have in the league is immense. In addition to that it’s putting the legitimacy of the whole competition under huge question mark.

The Ethiopian Football Federation, Ministry of Sports and Regional Sports Ministers should work together and efficiently to address this issue. Otherwise all the positive strides this league has taken in terms of broadcasting rights, sponsorship and viewership will go down the drain.

EthPL

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Round 1
1 Oct 2023 15:00
ADAMA
-
-
CBE
1 Oct 2023 18:00
SIDAMA
-
-
BUNNA
2 Oct 2023 15:00
SHASHE
-
-
DICHA
2 Oct 2023 18:00
HAMBERICHO
-
-
DIRE
3 Oct 2023 15:00
HAWASSA
-
-
FASIL
3 Oct 2023 18:00
HOSSANA
-
-
MECHAL
4 Oct 2023 15:00
KDG
-
-
WOLKITE
4 Oct 2023 18:00
MEDIN
-
-
BDR
Round 2
12 Oct 2023 15:00
DIRE
-
-
BUNNA
12 Oct 2023 18:00
CBE
-
-
HOSSANA
13 Oct 2023 15:00
HAMBERICHO
-
-
KDG
13 Oct 2023 18:00
FASIL
-
-
MEDIN
14 Oct 2023 15:00
WOLKITE
-
-
SIDAMA
14 Oct 2023 18:00
DICHA
-
-
ADAMA
15 Oct 2023 15:00
BDR
-
-
MECHAL
15 Oct 2023 18:00
SHASHE
-
-
HAWASSA
Round 3
19 Oct 2023 15:00
MEDIN
-
-
DICHA
19 Oct 2023 18:00
SIDAMA
-
-
FASIL
20 Oct 2023 15:00
HOSSANA
-
-
WOLKITE
20 Oct 2023 18:00
KDG
-
-
SHASHE
21 Oct 2023 15:00
MECHAL
-
-
CBE
21 Oct 2023 18:00
HAWASSA
-
-
DIRE
22 Oct 2023 15:00
ADAMA
-
-
HAMBERICHO
22 Oct 2023 18:00
BUNNA
-
-
BDR
Round 4
26 Oct 2023 15:00
SHASHE
-
-
SIDAMA
26 Oct 2023 18:00
DIRE
-
-
CBE
27 Oct 2023 15:00
HAWASSA
-
-
MEDIN
27 Oct 2023 18:00
WOLKITE
-
-
BDR
28 Oct 2023 15:00
HAMBERICHO
-
-
HOSSANA
28 Oct 2023 18:00
KDG
-
-
ADAMA
29 Oct 2023 15:00
FASIL
-
-
BUNNA
29 Oct 2023 18:00
DICHA
-
-
MECHAL
Round 5
2 Nov 2023 15:00
HOSSANA
-
-
SHASHE
2 Nov 2023 18:00
CBE
-
-
WOLKITE
3 Nov 2023 15:00
ADAMA
-
-
DIRE
3 Nov 2023 18:00
MECHAL
-
-
HAMBERICHO
4 Nov 2023 15:00
SIDAMA
-
-
HAWASSA
4 Nov 2023 18:00
MEDIN
-
-
KDG
5 Nov 2023 15:00
BDR
-
-
FASIL
5 Nov 2023 18:00
BUNNA
-
-
DICHA
Round 6
7 Dec 2023 15:00
DIRE
-
-
DICHA
7 Dec 2023 18:00
HAMBERICHO
-
-
FASIL
8 Dec 2023 15:00
MEDIN
-
-
MECHAL
8 Dec 2023 18:00
SHASHE
-
-
WOLKITE
9 Dec 2023 15:00
KDG
-
-
BDR
9 Dec 2023 18:00
SIDAMA
-
-
HOSSANA
10 Dec 2023 15:00
ADAMA
-
-
BUNNA
10 Dec 2023 18:00
HAWASSA
-
-
CBE
Round 7
14 Dec 2023 15:00
WOLKITE
-
-
HAMBERICHO
14 Dec 2023 18:00
FASIL
-
-
DICHA
15 Dec 2023 15:00
MECHAL
-
-
ADAMA
15 Dec 2023 18:00
BDR
-
-
HAWASSA
16 Dec 2023 15:00
BUNNA
-
-
KDG
16 Dec 2023 18:00
HOSSANA
-
-
MEDIN
17 Dec 2023 15:00
CBE
-
-
SHASHE
17 Dec 2023 18:00
SIDAMA
-
-
DIRE
Round 8
21 Dec 2023 15:00
HAWASSA
-
-
KDG
21 Dec 2023 18:00
WOLKITE
-
-
MECHAL
22 Dec 2023 15:00
FASIL
-
-
HOSSANA
22 Dec 2023 18:00
DIRE
-
-
BDR
23 Dec 2023 15:00
CBE
-
-
BUNNA
23 Dec 2023 18:00
HAMBERICHO
-
-
MEDIN
24 Dec 2023 15:00
DICHA
-
-
SIDAMA
24 Dec 2023 18:00
SHASHE
-
-
ADAMA
Round 9
4 Jan 2024 16:00
MEDIN
-
-
SIDAMA
4 Jan 2024 19:00
DICHA
-
-
WOLKITE
5 Jan 2024 16:00
SHASHE
-
-
BDR
5 Jan 2024 19:00
KDG
-
-
MECHAL
6 Jan 2024 16:00
DIRE
-
-
FASIL
6 Jan 2024 19:00
HAWASSA
-
-
BUNNA
7 Jan 2024 16:00
HAMBERICHO
-
-
CBE
7 Jan 2024 19:00
ADAMA
-
-
HOSSANA
Round 10
11 Jan 2024 16:00
BUNNA
-
-
SHASHE
11 Jan 2024 19:00
SIDAMA
-
-
ADAMA
12 Jan 2024 16:00
MECHAL
-
-
HAWASSA
12 Jan 2024 19:00
HOSSANA
-
-
KDG
13 Jan 2024 16:00
MEDIN
-
-
DIRE
13 Jan 2024 19:00
BDR
-
-
HAMBERICHO
14 Jan 2024 16:00
WOLKITE
-
-
FASIL
14 Jan 2024 19:00
CBE
-
-
DICHA
Round 11
18 Jan 2024 16:00
ADAMA
-
-
MEDIN
18 Jan 2024 19:00
HAMBERICHO
-
-
BUNNA
19 Jan 2024 16:00
KDG
-
-
SIDAMA
19 Jan 2024 19:00
FASIL
-
-
CBE
20 Jan 2024 16:00
DICHA
-
-
BDR
20 Jan 2024 19:00
SHASHE
-
-
MECHAL
21 Jan 2024 16:00
HAWASSA
-
-
HOSSANA
21 Jan 2024 19:00
DIRE
-
-
WOLKITE
Round 12
25 Jan 2024 16:00
MEDIN
-
-
SHASHE
25 Jan 2024 19:00
MECHAL
-
-
FASIL
26 Jan 2024 16:00
BDR
-
-
CBE
26 Jan 2024 19:00
ADAMA
-
-
HAWASSA
27 Jan 2024 16:00
KDG
-
-
DIRE
27 Jan 2024 19:00
SIDAMA
-
-
HAMBERICHO
28 Jan 2024 16:00
BUNNA
-
-
WOLKITE
28 Jan 2024 19:00
HOSSANA
-
-
DICHA
Round 13
1 Feb 2024 16:00
DICHA
-
-
HAMBERICHO
1 Feb 2024 19:00
CBE
-
-
KDG
2 Feb 2024 16:00
HOSSANA
-
-
DIRE
2 Feb 2024 19:00
BUNNA
-
-
MEDIN
3 Feb 2024 16:00
MECHAL
-
-
SIDAMA
3 Feb 2024 19:00
BDR
-
-
ADAMA
4 Feb 2024 16:00
WOLKITE
-
-
HAWASSA
4 Feb 2024 19:00
FASIL
-
-
SHASHE
Round 14
8 Feb 2024 16:00
SIDAMA
-
-
CBE
8 Feb 2024 19:00
MECHAL
-
-
BUNNA
9 Feb 2024 16:00
HOSSANA
-
-
BDR
9 Feb 2024 19:00
HAWASSA
-
-
HAMBERICHO
10 Feb 2024 16:00
ADAMA
-
-
FASIL
10 Feb 2024 19:00
SHASHE
-
-
DIRE
11 Feb 2024 16:00
KDG
-
-
DICHA
11 Feb 2024 19:00
MEDIN
-
-
WOLKITE
Round 15
15 Feb 2024 16:00
BUNNA
-
-
HOSSANA
15 Feb 2024 19:00
BDR
-
-
SIDAMA
16 Feb 2024 16:00
DICHA
-
-
HAWASSA
16 Feb 2024 19:00
WOLKITE
-
-
ADAMA
17 Feb 2024 16:00
DIRE
-
-
MECHAL
17 Feb 2024 19:00
CBE
-
-
MEDIN
18 Feb 2024 16:00
HAMBERICHO
-
-
SHASHE
18 Feb 2024 19:00
FASIL
-
-
KDG

Standing Table

#
Club
P
W
D
L
Pt
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
0
0
6
0
0
0
0
0
7
0
0
0
0
0
8
0
0
0
0
0
9
0
0
0
0
0
10
0
0
0
0
0
11
0
0
0
0
0
12
0
0
0
0
0
13
0
0
0
0
0
14
0
0
0
0
0
15
0
0
0
0
0
16
0
0
0
0
0

Top scorers chart

#
Player
Played
Goals
1
Adama Ketema
0
0
2
Ethiopia Nigd Bank
0
0
3
Ethiopia Nigd Bank
0
0
4
Ethiopia Nigd Bank
0
0
5
Adama Ketema
0
0
6
Ethiopia Nigd Bank
0
0
7
Adama Ketema
0
0
8
Ethiopia Nigd Bank
0
0
9
Adama Ketema
0
0
10
Ethiopia Nigd Bank
0
0

2023/24 Competitions

competition logo
CAF Champions League
competition logo
CAF Confederation Cup
competition logo
Ethiopian Premier League
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